ULTIMO (AUSTRALIA)
ABC
July 30, 2018
Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Adelaide Archbishop Philip Wilson — the most senior Catholic in the world to be convicted of concealing child sex abuse.
There had been intense pressure on Philip Wilson to officially step down from the role, with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and other political leaders among those calling for his resignation.
In May, Wilson was found guilty of covering up the abuse of children between 2004 and 2006 at the hands of paedophile priest Jim Fletcher in the 1970s.
Fletcher died in prison in 2006.
In a statement, the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference said Wilson had “decided that his conviction means he can no longer continue as Archbishop because to do so would continue to cause pain and distress to many, especially to survivors and also in the Archdiocese of Adelaide”.
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