AUSTRALIA
National Catholic Reporter
May 22, 2018
by James Dearie
Archbishop Philip Wilson of Adelaide, Australia, was found guilty of failing to report child sexual abuse in Newcastle Local Court May 22.
Wilson is scheduled to be sentenced June 19. The prosecution is asking for a jail sentence.
“I am obviously disappointed at the decision published today,” Wilson said in a statement the morning of the ruling. “I will now have to consider the reasons and consult closely with my lawyers to determine the next steps.”
Wilson, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in November but refused to resign, claims that he does not recall a 1976 conversation with a then 15-year-old victim of Fr. James Fletcher in which the victim had detailed abuse allegations, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported the morning of the decision.
Fletcher was convicted on several charges of child abuse in 2004. He died in jail in 2006.
Magistrate Robert Stone said that he was “satisfied” that the victim had made a report to Wilson, who “knew he was hearing a credible allegation of abuse,” but “wanted to protect the church and its reputation.”
Brian Coyne, the editor and publisher of the online journal Catholica.com.au, told NCR that “this is a hugely significant decision by a civil court. Archbishop Wilson is the most senior Catholic leader in the world to have faced such a conviction.”
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