The Catholic Archbishop of Adelaide should stand aside until the finalisation of a claim that he concealed child sexual abuse by a priest, says a victim support group.
Philip Wilson has strenuously denied a NSW police allegation that he concealed a serious offence regarding child sexual abuse in the state’s Hunter region.
The abuse was allegedly committed during the 1970s by another priest, when both men worked in the Maitland Diocese, near Newcastle.
The 64-year-old archbishop released a statement on Tuesday saying he had taken immediate leave and had retained Ian Temby QC, one of the country’s top barristers, to represent him.
But Broken Rights spokesman, Dr Bernard Barrett, said it would be “more credible and the public would then know they can have confidence” if Wilson officially stood aside from his position while the criminal charge is pending.
Speaking on ABC Radio on Wednesday, he said taking some leave did not have the same status as saying “I’m standing aside, but I will come back after the judicial process is finished”.
SNAP Australia (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) welcomed the charging of Wilson, saying they hoped the charge was the first of many.
“For too long, survivors have seen those responsible for enforcing laws against covering up child sex crimes ignore evidence and fail to investigate in case after case,” SNAP spokeswoman Nicky Davis said.
Wilson has been issued with a notice to appear in the Newcastle Local Court on April 30 on the charge of concealing a serious offence.
The charge relates to the alleged failure to report child sex abuse committed by paedophile priest Jim Fletcher during the 1970s.
Fletcher, now deceased, was found guilty of nine charges relating to the sexual abuse of a teenager between 1989 and 1991.
Wilson had previously worked with him in the Maitland Diocese, near Newcastle in NSW.
Wilson released a statement yesterday saying he completely denied the allegation and was disappointed NSW Police had decided to file a charge.
“The suggestion appears to be that I failed to bring to the attention of police a conversation I am alleged to have had in 1976, when I was a junior priest, that a now deceased priest had abused a child,” he said.
“From the time this was first brought to my attention last year, I have completely denied the allegation. I intend to vigorously defend my innocence through the judicial system and I have retained Senior Counsel, Mr Ian Temby AO, who will represent me in respect of it.
“I am unable to make any further comment at this stage, but I would like to take this opportunity to reaffirm my commitment to dealing proactively with the issue of child sexual abuse and the implementation of best-practice child protection measures which I have pioneered since becoming a bishop.
“My efforts in this regard have been widely acknowledged, including as a result of evidence I gave to hearings of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in NSW and SA.
“I would again like to express my deep sorrow for the devastating impact of clerical sex abuse on victims and their families, and I give an assurance that despite this charge, I will continue to do what I can to protect the children in our care in the Archdiocese of Adelaide.
“I intend to take some leave to consult with a wide range of people in response to the information I have received today.”
Strike Force Lantle was initiated in 2010 to investigate allegations of concealment of serious offences related to child abuse by clergy formerly and currently attached to the Maitland-Newcastle Diocese of the Catholic Church.
Wilson has previously defended his conduct in relation to the matter, after a 2010 ABC-TV report alleged a “conspiracy of silence” about sexual abuse cases involving fellow clergy in NSW.
The Archbishop told The Australian at the time he had not mishandled nor covered up sexual abuse cases during his time in the diocese.
“I have always tried to act correctly in these areas, and to do what’s right, and I have such an abhorrence of this,” he was quoted as saying.
“The thing is I was 25 in 1975 when I was ordained as a priest. I thought maybe people had difficulties of virtue in regard to sexuality and so on in the priesthood, but I didn’t know there were such people as pedophiles. In my life, I had never seen anything to raise suspicion this was happening.”
He said he lived in the same house as Fletcher in 1982, when the victim who alleged the “conspiracy of silence” was already 22.
“I had no suspicion there was anything happening at all…if I’d have known, I would have done something about it,” he said in 2010.
– with AAP
