Australian bishop sentenced for cover-up

Australian bishop sentenced for cover-up

CANBERRA, Australia — Archbishop Philip Wilson, age 67, became the most senior Roman Catholic cleric to be convicted of covering up child sex abuse when he was sentenced to 12 months in detention by an Australian court July 3.

Wilson was found guilty of failing to report to police the repeated abuse of two altar boys by a pedophile priest in the 1970s. Newcastle Magistrate Robert Stone said Wilson failed to act because he “wanted to protect the church and its image.”

The case has been welcomed by some abuse survivors as a strong warning to institutions that fail to protect children, and lawyers say they expect more cases to be brought to trial. (RNS)