Australia / Oceania

Pope Francis Accepts Australian Archbishop Wilson's Resignation

Archbishop Philip Wilson was sentenced to serve a year in detention for covering up child sexual abuse.

Pope Francis Accepts Australian Archbishop Wilson's Resignation
Catholic Archdiocese of Adelaide
SMS

Pope Francis has accepted Australian Archbishop Philip Wilson's resignation after he was convicted of covering up child sexual abuse. 

Back in May, Wilson was found guilty of not telling police that a fellow priest had abused two altar boys in the 1970s. That priest was found guilty of multiple counts of sexual assault in 2004 and died in jail two years later. 

After Wilson's conviction, he stepped aside from his duties as Adelaide's archbishop but resisted calls for his resignation. 

Earlier this month, Wilson was sentenced to serve a year in detention and will be eligible for parole after six months. 

Wilson is the highest-ranking Catholic official ever to be convicted of covering up child sexual abuse.