Archbishop convicted of covering up child sex abuse
AN AUSTRALIAN archbishop has become the world’s most senior Roman Catholic cleric to be convicted of covering up child sex abuse allegations and faces up to two years in prison when he is sentenced next month.
Philip Wilson, the Archbishop of Adelaide, was convicted in Newcastle, north of Sydney. Wilson, 67, had pleaded not guilty to concealing a serious crime committed by another person – the sexual abuse of children by priest James Fletcher in the Seventies.
Magistrate Robert Stone said Wilson had concealed the abuse by Fletcher of two altar boys in the Hunter Valley region, north of Sydney, by failing to report the allegations to police.
Mr Stone said he was satisfied one of the boys, Peter Creigh, had been a “truthful and reliable” witness. The court had ordered that Mr Creigh can be named, but the second accuser cannot.
Prosecutors said Wilson was involved in a cover-up to protect the Church’s reputation. Wilson, who is suffering from the early stages of Alzheimer’s but maintains medication has helped his memory, told the court he could not remember Mr Creigh and another altar boy telling him in 1976 that they were abused by Fletcher.
Fletcher was found guilty of nine counts of child sexual abuse and died in prison of a stroke in 2006. Wilson was released on bail until he appears at a sentencing hearing on June 9.