Are you Catholic?"

Anne Barrett Doyle smiled at me expectantly with kind, sea-green eyes.

It was months before the pandemic hit, and Barrett Doyle had invited me over to the Boston loft she and her husband moved into after the last of their four kids left for college.

A crucifix hung on the wall, and a Jesus statuette prayed from a wooden desk. Several Bibles lined the bookshelf. We sat side by side on a plush beige couch.

Barrett Doyle, small and soft-spoken, with shoulder-length auburn hair and rosy cheeks, folded her hands politely and crossed her ankles.

As co-director of Bishop Accountability, an archive documenting the sexual abuse problems of the Catholic Church, Barrett Doyle has devoted her life to chronicling the prosecution of priests who have sexually abused and assaulted children and teenagers.

Barrett Doyle is one of just a handful of women fighting to expose clergy predation, both hailed as a hero by survivors and denounced as apostate by some within the Church.

She is also an ardent, unapologetic Catholic.

For some of the 1.3 billion other Catholics in the world, these last couple of decades have made her question a tough one to answer.

Am I Catholic?

Let's see: In second-grade, I was baptized in a cream-colored gown recycled from flower-girl duties at a family friend's wedding.

Mass felt special back then. We sang pretty songs, chanted important things, and wished peace upon strangers.

Sitting in the pews with my parents was like an invitation to the grown-up table.

I wore fancy dresses—and the shoes! Black patent-leather Mary Janes, paired with white tights. Plus a padded headband, usually red.

When it got boring, my younger brother and I thumb-warred through homilies.

Afterward, we ate cheese enchiladas and drank Cokes at the Tex-Mex restaurant nearby. I never gave much thought to why I was Catholic; I just liked being a part of something that felt familial.

Now, as an adult, it's hard to relate to a religion that mostly excludes women from power, and whose leaders have gone to great lengths to cover up heinous crimes against children. I go to Mass once a year at Christmastime, and the only part I really enjoy are the enchiladas.

So, am I Catholic?

In Barrett Doyle's living room, I settled on: "It's complicated."

She nodded. "Some of my closest friends are survivors [of abuse], and they would say I'm supporting a corrupt and evil hierarchy," she told me.

"I don't attempt to defend it, and I can't even explain it. I just know that I am a Catholic to my core. Part of my motivation is to be an agent of change in the Church."

But the 62-year-old Boston native is more than just a force for good.

She is one of the most feared and respected members of the Catholic Church; a steward of the world's largest trove of documents holding accountable powerful men who have committed unforgivable acts—and unimaginable sin.

Barrett Doyle's life mission began the morning of January 6, 2002.

At 6 a.m., she poured herself a cup of black coffee, and tucked into the Boston Globe, savoring a peaceful moment alone before everyone woke up. She stared at the front-page feature: "Church Allowed Abuse by Priest for Years."

The story reported, in excruciating detail, how Boston Cardinal Bernard Law moved an abusive priest from parish to parish after finding out he was molesting young boys.

For years, Barrett Doyle had taken pride not only in her role as a nurturing Catholic mother, but in the ritual of walking into church each Sunday with her children trailing behind like little ducklings. But this—this news rocked her.

How could she lead her family through the doors of their beloved St. Agnes Parish now?

She didn't.

Instead of going to Mass, Barrett Doyle and her husband, Bill Doyle, loaded the kids into their minivan and drove to the cardinal's downtown offices, where protesters had started gathering with signs reading, "Speaking Out Is Holy," "Keep the Faith, Change the Church," and "Full Disclosure: Release the Files."

What do you do when something you love so much goes so terribly, inconceivably wrong?

When the institution that breathes life into your days—when your very belief in the Lord Jesus Christ, which for you is akin to believing in food or air—is threatened? Continue reading

"I am not surprised" by the new reports of abuse.

"I do not think it will stop soon and, at the same time, I think it is necessary and should be seen in the framework of evolving a more consistent practice of accountability," said Jesuit Father Hans Zollner, a professor of psychology and president of the Center for Child Protection at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.

"I know that people are deeply angry and they are losing their trust — this is understandable.

That is normal, humanly speaking," he told Catholic News Service Aug. 7 as newspapers were filled with information and commentary about the case of retired Archbishop Theodore E. McCarrick, misconduct in a Nebraska seminary and the pending release of a Pennsylvania grand jury report on clergy sexual abuse.

The courage of survivors to speak out, the investigative work of both police and church bodies, the implementation of child protection measures and improved screening of potential seminarians, church workers and volunteers mean that children and vulnerable adults are safer today.

Pennsylvania not the end

But, as Father Zollner has been saying for years, that does not mean accusations of past abuse will stop coming out, and it does not guarantee there will never again be a case of abuse or sexual misconduct.

Dealing with the reality of potential abuse and the history of clerical sexual abuse in the church is a process, he said.

"We see that people were first speaking out about the misbehavior of priests and now it's bishops, so there is a development there.

"I am not surprised, and I do not think it will stop soon."

Something new

After Archbishop McCarrick resigned from the College of Cardinals and was ordered to live a life of prayer and penance pending a church trial, many U.S. bishops began speaking publicly of devising a process to review accusations made against bishops.

Father Zollner agreed that is a good idea, but he believes it must be part of "a new way of coming together as the people of God" and taking responsibility for the church.

To make that happen, he said, "we need to honestly look at what we can learn from the way society and companies function in terms of accountability, transparency and compliance."

"A church body investigating allegations needs to have as much independence as possible," Father Zollner said.

"When dealing with accusations against a bishop, there should be at least a mixed board — meaning some bishops and some independent lay persons.

If it is not possible to have a fully complete investigation by independent lay persons, there should be as many as possible and as experienced as possible.

Our canon lawyers are trained in legal procedures; they are not trained in investigation."

But the response must go far beyond setting up another new structure, he said. Continue reading

These words of Saint Paul forcefully echo in my heart as I acknowledge once more the suffering endured by many minors due to sexual abuse, the abuse of power and the abuse of conscience perpetrated by a significant number of clerics and consecrated persons.

Crimes that inflict deep wounds of pain and powerlessness, primarily among the victims, but also in their family members and in the larger community of believers and nonbelievers alike.

Looking back to the past, no effort to beg pardon and to seek to repair the harm done will ever be sufficient.

Looking ahead to the future, no effort must be spared to create a culture able to prevent such situations from happening, but also to prevent the possibility of their being covered up and perpetuated.

The pain of the victims and their families is also our pain, and so it is urgent that we once more reaffirm our commitment to ensure the protection of minors and of vulnerable adults.

If one member suffers…

In recent days, a report was made public which detailed the experiences of at least a thousand survivors, victims of sexual abuse, the abuse of power and of conscience at the hands of priests over a period of approximately seventy years.

Even though it can be said that most of these cases belong to the past, nonetheless as time goes on we have come to know the pain of many of the victims.

We have realized that these wounds never disappear and that they require us forcefully to condemn these atrocities and join forces in uprooting this culture of death; these wounds never go away.

The heart-wrenching pain of these victims, which cries out to heaven, was long ignored, kept quiet or silenced. But their outcry was more powerful than all the measures meant to silence it, or sought even to resolve it by decisions that increased its gravity by falling into complicity.

The Lord heard that cry and once again showed us on which side he stands. Mary's song is not mistaken and continues quietly to echo throughout history.

For the Lord remembers the promise he made to our fathers: "he has scattered the proud in their conceit; he has cast down the mighty from their thrones and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty" (Lk 1:51-53).

We feel shame when we realize that our style of life has denied, and continues to deny, the words we recite.

With shame and repentance, we acknowledge as an ecclesial community that we were not where we should have been, that we did not act in a timely manner, realizing the magnitude and the gravity of the damage done to so many lives.

We showed no care for the little ones; we abandoned them.

I make my own the words of the then Cardinal Ratzinger when, during the Way of the Cross composed for Good Friday 2005, he identified with the cry of pain of so many victims and exclaimed: "How much filth there is in the Church, and even among those who, in the priesthood, ought to belong entirely to [Christ]!

"How much pride, how much self-complacency!

"Christ's betrayal by his disciples, their unworthy reception of his body and blood, is certainly the greatest suffering endured by the Redeemer; it pierces his heart.

"We can only call to him from the depths of our hearts: Kyrie eleison - Lord, save us! (cf. Mt 8:25)" (Ninth Station).

… all suffer together with it

The extent and the gravity of all that has happened requires coming to grips with this reality in a comprehensive and communal way.

While it is important and necessary on every journey of conversion to acknowledge the truth of what has happened, in itself this is not enough.

Today we are challenged as the People of God to take on the pain of our brothers and sisters wounded in their flesh and in their spirit.

If, in the past, the response was one of omission, today we want solidarity, in the deepest and most challenging sense, to become our way of forging present and future history.

And this in an environment where conflicts, tensions and above all the victims of every type of abuse can encounter an outstretched hand to protect them and rescue them from their pain (cf. Evangelii Gaudium, 228).

Such solidarity demands that we in turn condemn whatever endangers the integrity of any person. A solidarity that summons us to fight all forms of corruption, especially spiritual corruption.

The latter is "a comfortable and self-satisfied form of blindness. Everything then appears acceptable: deception, slander, egotism and other subtle forms of self-centeredness, for ‘even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light' (2 Cor 11:14)" (Gaudete et Exsultate, 165).

Saint Paul's exhortation to suffer with those who suffer is the best antidote against all our attempts to repeat the words of Cain: "Am I my brother's keeper?" (Gen 4:9).

I am conscious of the effort and work being carried out in various parts of the world to come up with the necessary means to ensure the safety and protection of the integrity of children and of vulnerable adults, as well as implementing zero tolerance and ways of making all those who perpetrate or cover up these crimes accountable.

We have delayed in applying these actions and sanctions that are so necessary, yet I am confident that they will help to guarantee a greater culture of care in the present and future.

Together with those efforts, every one of the baptized should feel involved in the ecclesial and social change that we so greatly need.

This change calls for a personal and communal conversion that makes us see things as the Lord does.

For as Saint John Paul II liked to say: "If we have truly started out anew from the contemplation of Christ, we must learn to see him especially in the faces of those with whom he wished to be identified" (Novo Millennio Ineunte, 49).

To see things as the Lord does, to be where the Lord wants us to be, to experience a conversion of heart in his presence. To do so, prayer and penance will help.

I invite the entire holy faithful People of God to a penitential exercise of prayer and fasting, following the Lord's command. [1]

This can awaken our conscience and arouse our solidarity and commitment to a culture of care that says "never again" to every form of abuse.

It is impossible to think of a conversion of our activity as a Church that does not include the active participation of all the members of God's People.

Indeed, whenever we have tried to replace, or silence, or ignore, or reduce the People of God to small elites, we end up creating communities, projects, theological approaches, spiritualities and structures without roots, without memory, without faces, without bodies and ultimately, without lives. [2]

This is clearly seen in a peculiar way of understanding the Church's authority, one common in many communities where sexual abuse and the abuse of power and conscience have occurred. Such is the case with clericalism, an approach that "not only nullifies the character of Christians, but also tends to diminish and undervalue the baptismal grace that the Holy Spirit has placed in the heart of our people". [3]

Clericalism, whether fostered by priests themselves or by lay persons, leads to an excision in the ecclesial body that supports and helps to perpetuate many of the evils that we are condemning today. To say "no" to abuse is to say an emphatic "no" to all forms of clericalism.

It is always helpful to remember that "in salvation history, the Lord saved one people. We are never completely ourselves unless we belong to a people. That is why no one is saved alone, as an isolated individual.

Rather, God draws us to himself, taking into account the complex fabric of interpersonal relationships present in the human community. God wanted to enter into the life and history of a people" (Gaudete et Exsultate, 6).

Consequently, the only way that we have to respond to this evil that has darkened so many lives is to experience it as a task regarding all of us as the People of God.

This awareness of being part of a people and a shared history will enable us to acknowledge our past sins and mistakes with a penitential openness that can allow us to be renewed from within.

Without the active participation of all the Church's members, everything being done to uproot the culture of abuse in our communities will not be successful in generating the necessary dynamics for sound and realistic change.

The penitential dimension of fasting and prayer will help us as God's People to come before the Lord and our wounded brothers and sisters as sinners imploring forgiveness and the grace of shame and conversion.

In this way, we will come up with actions that can generate resources attuned to the Gospel. For "whenever we make the effort to return to the source and to recover the original freshness of the Gospel, new avenues arise, new paths of creativity open up, with different forms of expression, more eloquent signs and words with new meaning for today's world" (Evangelii Gaudium, 11).

It is essential that we, as a Church, be able to acknowledge and condemn, with sorrow and shame, the atrocities perpetrated by consecrated persons, clerics, and all those entrusted with the mission of watching over and caring for those most vulnerable.

Let us beg forgiveness for our own sins and the sins of others.

An awareness of sin helps us to acknowledge the errors, the crimes and the wounds caused in the past and allows us, in the present, to be more open and committed along a journey of renewed conversion.

Likewise, penance and prayer will help us to open our eyes and our hearts to other people's sufferings and to overcome the thirst for power and possessions that are so often the root of those evils.

May fasting and prayer open our ears to the hushed pain felt by children, young people and the disabled.

A fasting that can make us hunger and thirst for justice and impel us to walk in the truth, supporting all the judicial measures that may be necessary.

A fasting that shakes us up and leads us to be committed in truth and charity with all men and women of good will, and with society in general, to combatting all forms of the abuse of power, sexual abuse and the abuse of conscience.

In this way, we can show clearly our calling to be "a sign and instrument of communion with God and of the unity of the entire human race" (Lumen Gentium, 1).

"If one member suffers, all suffer together with it", said Saint Paul. By an attitude of prayer and penance, we will become attuned as individuals and as a community to this exhortation, so that we may grow in the gift of compassion, in justice, prevention and reparation.

Mary chose to stand at the foot of her Son's cross. She did so unhesitatingly, standing firmly by Jesus' side.

In this way, she reveals the way she lived her entire life.

When we experience the desolation caused by these ecclesial wounds, we will do well, with Mary, "to insist more upon prayer", seeking to grow all the more in love and fidelity to the Church (Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Spiritual Exercises, 319).

She, the first of the disciples, teaches all of us as disciples how we are to halt before the sufferings of the innocent, without excuses or cowardice. To look to Mary is to discover the model of a true follower of Christ.

May the Holy Spirit grant us the grace of conversion and the interior anointing needed to express before these crimes of abuse our compunction and our resolve courageously to combat them.

[1] "But this kind [of demon] does not come out except by prayer and fasting" (Mt 17:21).

[2] Cf. Letter to the Pilgrim People of God in Chile (31 May 2018).

[3] Letter to Cardinal Marc Ouellet, President of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America (19 March 2016).

• Francis, Vatican City, 20 August 2018

Wilson (67) has been convicted of concealing paedophile priest Jim Fletcher's abusive behaviour in the 1970s.

As Wilson was leaving the Newcastle Local Court after being sentenced on Tuesday, a group of victims was waiting for him.

Peter Gogarty, who was one of Fletcher's victims, asked Wilson to apologise.

"Philip, please, something - one word of contrition," he called, when it became obvious Wilson was not going to answer.

Instead, one of Wilson's supporters asked Gogarty why he'd waited 40 years to come forward.

The supporter is reported to have said, "I don't have time for rubbish like you, mate."

Gogarty then began yelling "you pig, you pig!"

He said he was "beside himself" because Wilson wouldn't apologise.

"The grace has shown no grace," Gogarty said.

"Will no one in the Catholic Church say sorry to me and others?"

Gogarty says he told Wilson of the abuse 40 years ago, because "40 years ago people opened their mouths to people like…[him]…who did absolutely nothing to help them."

In May Wilson was sentenced to a year's detention, of which six months is non-parole.

On Tuesday, Magistrate Robert Stone told the Newcastle Local Court Wilson was to begin serving his sentence immediately at his sister's home.

In Stone's opinion, Wilson is unlikely to offend again. He noted Wilson had expressed ‘no remorse or contrition,' instead he was primarily motivated to protect the church.

Wilson's lawyer says they would lodge an immediate appeal against Wilson's conviction.

Source

• BBC News
• ABC
• Image: The Tablet

In May this year Wilson was convicted of covering up the sexual abuse of minors in the 1970s. Read more

The calls to resign come not only from victims, anti-church crusaders and commentators of every ilk, but also eminent Catholics who fear he may cause more damage by staying on.

I do not wish to debate the rights or wrongs of resignation but simply reflect on whether the pursuit of Wilson could in any sense be described as a witch-hunt and whether he might be seen as a scapegoat for the sins of many.

First, I do not know Wilson and have interviewed him just once.

I am not a Catholic or a church-goer.

I abhor sexual abuse and its concealment.

I do know a bit about churches (one brother is an Anglican bishop, the other a dean, in England).

As a journalist I have covered legal cases and watched expert lawyers in action in all courts.

I have witnessed merciless interrogations of murderers and conmen, of premiers (Brian Burke and Carmen Lawrence) and businessmen (Alan Bond).

Alarm bells about the Wilson story rang for me eight years ago.

In May 2010, the ABC broadcast a report nationally which claimed that abusive priest James Fletcher had regularly taken a 12-year-old boy up to his room at the Bishop's House in Maitland, New South Wales, in the 1970s.

The report suggested that as Wilson lived in the same house he must have seen the boy going upstairs.

I was an ABC journalist based in Adelaide and was intrigued partly because the protagonist's story was so shocking and also because the report contained only brief responses on the Archbishop's behalf and he appeared nowhere on camera.

Having previously worked on detailed church investigations (including into an Anglican archbishop) I knew it was important to get an on-camera response to such a serious accusation.

I was aware The Australian was also asking for an interview.

To my surprise I was told by the Archbishop's local media manager that the ABC had sent a series of questions to Wilson but only on the morning of the broadcast and it had been impossible at such short notice to answer in detail questions about the 1970s.

They felt it had been an 'ambush' by the ABC, told me an interview was unlikely, but the request would be passed on.

I then breached normal ABC protocol on someone else's story and did a bit of checking myself.

A look online revealed the complainant was born in 1960 and so would have been 12 in 1972.

Wilson was born in 1950 and ordained in 1975.

So when it was suggested the 12-year-old could have been seen climbing to Fletcher's bedroom, Wilson was still three years from becoming a priest.

This was a serious mistake in a story the ABC's then managing director had said earlier had taken months to research. (The story was later corrected online.)

I was disturbed that the report had gone to air with such basic errors and that Wilson had been sent questions only on the morning of the broadcast.

The complainant's number was online so after work I rang him and we had a friendly conversation.

He told me he had never claimed he'd been 12 at the time he'd seen Wilson at the house.

My decision not to talk immediately to Sydney and to contact the complainant was to cause me grief later in the week when out of the blue the Archbishop's media manager told me I could interview Wilson (he was also going to talk to The Australian).

I grabbed a camera and headed for the Archbishop's House.

He was polite and gracious and said I could ask him anything.

His manner was quiet and thoughtful. I have kept a transcript of the interview. Continue reading

Sources

• Alan Atkinson (pictured) has been freelance writing and editing full-time since leaving the ABC in 2015 after ten years as chief of staff, producer and day editor of the Adelaide newsroom.
• Image: PRWeb

The interview concerned Archbishop Philip Wilson's refusal to stand down as Archbishop of Adelaide after his conviction for concealing child sex abuse.

One of Australia's leading radio personalities, the ever-popular Laws comments regularly on issues impacting life in Australia.

Frank Brennan is a Jesuit priest, academic and human rights lawyer.

Once dubbed by Paul Keating, then Australian Prime Minister as "the meddling priest," Brennan, for some time, has almost been a lone voice among Australian clergy calling for Wilson's resignation.

A professor of Law in Public Policy at the Australian Catholic University and visiting professional fellow at the University of New South Wales, in 1995 Brennan was appointed as an Officer of Australia.

The award recognised his service to Aboriginal Australians, particularly as an advocate in the areas of law, social justice and reconciliation.

He now serves as CEO of Catholic Social Services Australia.

Introducing Brennan's interview, Laws said the Catholic Church stands condemned for its 'stupid' refusal to dump convicted criminal Archbishop Philip Wilson.

Laws suggested the Church is 'losing the plot', certainly 'not making friends' and the Church should be leaning on Wilson to resign.

"Can you think of any other workplace environment where somebody who is convicted of concealing child sex abuse could ever hold out hope of returning of their former role?" asked Laws.

Calling it a damning indictment of Wilson, Laws said, years ago, Wilson had the chance to speak up for children and failed to do so.

Expressing surprise at the Church's attitude, Laws said the event gives the Church an opportunity to speak up for victims and 'front foot' the battle of child sex abuse.

In a hard-hitting introduction, Laws says he is not surprised the confidence in the Catholic Church is eroding and he suggests it will continue to be eroded unless it picks up its act.

After the interview, the veteran broadcaster concludes saying he enjoyed talking with Brennan, calling Brennan "a refreashing priest" and "a delightful fellow".

He complemented Brennan on his knowledge and that he is prepared to speak his mind.

To listen, press the play icon (below left) on the audio bar.

Sources

• Radio 2SM
• News.com.au

The allegations involved two altar boys who were abused by a paedophile priest. They disclosed the abuse to him in the 1970s.

Wilson, who is 67, is the most senior Catholic official in the world to be convicted of concealing child abuse.

He is likely to serve his 12-month sentence in home detention.

Wilson says he is aware of the calls for his resignation and has "taken them very seriously."

"However, at this time, I am entitled to exercise my legal rights and to follow the due process of law.

"Since that process is not yet complete, I do not intend to resign at this time," he says.

However, he says if his appeal is unsuccessful he will immediately offer his resignation to the Holy See.

Until a decision regarding his appeal has been made, Wilson says he won't be making any further public statements.

In the meantime, he has stepped aside from his position as archbishop.

Pope Francis has appointed Bishop Greg O'Kelly SJ as apostolic administrator of Adelaide.

He has taken on the diocese's leadership responsibilities.

Archbishop Mark Coleridge, president of the Australian Bishops Conference, says that "a number of survivors, prominent Australians and other members of the community have publicly called on Archbishop Wilson to resign."

These include Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and opposition leader Bill Shorten who have argued that the archbishop is not in a position to lead.

"Although we have no authority to compel him to do so, a number of Australian bishops have also offered their advice privately," Coleridge says.

"Only the Pope can compel a bishop to resign."

Source

• Catholic News Agency
• SBS News
• Image: The Telegraph

Magistrate Robert Stone adjourned the matter to 14 August while Wilson's home detention order is assessed for suitability.

It's very likely that he will appeal his conviction and sentence.

An appeal may well succeed, but that's not the end of the matter.

This has been a six-year saga relating to events which occurred more than 40 years ago. The law is complex; and emotions are running high.

When bishop of Wollongong and later Archbishop of Adelaide, Wilson did a lot to improve the Catholic Church's national response to crimes of child sexual abuse committed by church personnel.

But the present criminal conviction and sentence of imprisonment relates to his time as a young priest in the diocese of Maitland-Newcastle back in 1976.

It was only later when he was Archbishop of Adelaide that some of his earlier behaviour came back to haunt him.

Local residents in Maitland-Newcastle who were sexually abused as children by either Fr McAlinden or Fr Fletcher have been very outspoken against Wilson, regardless of his later behaviour as a bishop nationally committed to cleaning up the mess.

In 1990, the New South Wales parliament had amended the Crimes Act creating a new offence of concealing a serious indictable offence. Section 316(1) provides:

'If a person has committed a serious indictable offence and another person who knows or believes that the offence has been committed and that he or she has information which might be of material assistance in securing the apprehension of the offender or the prosecution or conviction of the offender for it fails without reasonable excuse to bring that information to the attention of a member of the police force or other appropriate authority, that other person is liable to imprisonment for 2 years.'

In 1999, the New South Wales Law Reform Commission reviewed this provision and found it wanting. The majority of commissioners recommended complete repeal of the provision.

They said: 'The Commission disapproves of substituting a legal duty which is enforced by a criminal sanction for a moral one unless there are overall substantial benefits to society in doing so. No such overall benefits have been demonstrated in relation to s 316(1)'.

A minority of commissioners thought there might be a case for some provision but even they said, 'It must be accepted that the present provision is seriously flawed; to be brutal about it, it is in several crucial respects virtually meaningless.

In our view, the essential problem is not that the section's underlying philosophy is mistaken but that it breaches the fundamental rule that the criminal law be unambiguous.'

Basically, the law was making it a criminal offence for anyone not to report to police anything they might know about the criminal behaviour of any other person 'without reasonable excuse'.

But no one knew what constituted a reasonable excuse, especially when the victim of the crime or their trusted confidantes chose not to go to the police.

For whatever reason, back in July 2012, Wilson refused to cooperate with the NSW police when they were investigating complaints against McAlinden.

Wilson as a young priest and budding canon lawyer had been the notary at a church trial of McAlinden.

Detective Graeme Parker, the head of Strike Force Lantle, told the Sydney Morning Herald: 'It's a shame because there are questions that really need to be asked of Archbishop Wilson. We made numerous attempts to get him to the table to be interviewed but he's exercised his right to silence.'

I daresay that if Wilson had cooperated with the police back then, that would have been the end of the matter.

From that time on, victims of abuse thought that Wilson had something to hide. Continue reading

• Frank Brennan SJ is the CEO of Catholic Social Services Australia.

Wilson was sentenced to 12 months' detention in a magistrate-only trial in a Newcastle, Australia on Tuesday. He will be eligible for parole after six months.

He is the most senior Catholic cleric in the world found guilty of concealing child sex abuse.

Magistrate Robert Stone said in announcing the sentence: "There is no remorse or contrition showed by the offender.

"I am of the opinion the sentence should not be suspended. It does not support the terms of general deterrence.

"On that basis, the only available remaining option is full-time imprisonment or home detention."

Stone has adjourned the details of the sentence until next month while Wilson is assessed for home detention.

The court can request an assessment for home detention after sentencing an offender to a term of imprisonment of no more than 18 months.

The premier of South Australia Steven Marshall, prime minister Malcolm Turnbull and opposition leader Bill Shorten are calling for Wilson to resign immediately.

The New South Wales police minister Troy Grant, a former police officer, said the sentence handed to Wilson was appalling.

"This is no deterrent as a sentence. It's appalling, the children deserve better, the victims deserve better and the community do," he says.

Wilson says he is innocent of the offending and intends lodging an appeal.

"I do not intend to resign at this time. However, if I am unsuccessful in my appeal, I will immediately offer my resignation to the Holy See."

Lawyers for Wilson, who maintained his innocence throughout the legal process, had argued that he did not know another priest, James Fletcher, had abused a boy.

Two victims say they told him about it in 1976. One was an altar boy who told him inside the confessional.

Fletcher was subsequently found guilty in 2004 of nine counts of child sexual abuse. He died in jail in 2006.

Source

• Channel News Asia
• ABC
• The Guardian
• Image: The New Daily
  

Pope Francis says Bishop Gregory O'Kelly of the neighboring diocese of Port Pirie has been selected as the administrator. Read more

He is the most senior Catholic official in the world to be charged and convicted of this offence.

The 67-year old faces a possible two-year prison sentence.

Wilson will be sentenced next week.

He has announced he will stand down from his duties while he considers his legal options.

He says he may formally resign as archbishop if it becomes necessary.

Frank Brennan, an Australian Jesuit priest, human rights lawyer and academic, said Wilson had to stand aside as archbishop of the South Australian state capital.

"I would think that the mind of Pope Francis at this stage would be that if there be a conviction of a bishop in relation to a failure to disclose abuse in circumstances where the state thought that was criminal activity, then I would think the mind of the pope would be that that doesn't measure up in church terms either and that therefore it would be impossible for someone to remain in the job as a bishop," Brennan said.

Brennan said Wilson had complied with the nondisclosure culture of the church in the 1970s.

"There's no doubt that Archbishop Wilson in recent years … has been one of the good guys. He has been one of the bishops in the Catholic Church who have been trying to clean things up," Brennan said.

"But this relates to when he was a young priest. Even someone like him who later got it back in those years was so confined by our culture that it would seem there was no disclosure," he added.

The abuse Wilson concealed was committed by Fr Jim Fletcher in the 1970s.

The prosecutor, Gareth Harrison, told the court Wilson must be jailed to deter others from trying to protect the Catholic church from abuse allegations.

Wilson claimed no-one had ever come forward to tell him of allegations of child sex abuse during his 40 years as a clergyman.

The magistrate cast that claim aside.

Speaking outside court, abuse survivor Peter Gogarty said the verdict was "one of the most significant days in criminal law in Australian history."

"I think this will now open the doors for other jurisdictions to start looking at trying to prosecute people who deliberately looked after their institution and, literally, threw children to the wolves," he said.

"On behalf of all of the victims — who have been abused in this country and elsewhere — I just want to say what an enormous relief it is that the people who let this happen are finally being brought to account."

Wilson also made a statement, saying he would consider the reasons for the magistrate's ruling.

"I am obviously disappointed at the decision published today," he said.

"I will now have to consider the reasons and consult closely with my lawyers to determine the next steps."

Source

• The Guardian
• ABC
• Catholic Herald
• RNS
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Wilson's lawyers say he is medically unfit to give evidence because of physical and mental health issues.

In 2015 he was charged with covering up a Hunter Valley priest's abuse, which took place in the 1970s.

The priest, Jim Fletcher, has since died.

Adelaide neurologist Associate Professor Andrew Lee told the Court an examination of the 67-year old archbishop after a severe fall earlier this year brought to light a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease.

He has also recently had a pacemaker installed.

The prosecutor asked Lee if Wilson could have been malingering during these tests.

Lee agreed it was possible, and said the archbishop must be assessed further by a neuro-psychologist to determine if he is fit to stand trial.

He said in his opinion Wilson was a genuine person and wasn't trying to put something over him during the tests.

In a statement, Wilson says many people's initial reaction to an Alzheimer's diagnosis is to think life is all but over.

His statement goes on to say a person with such a diagnosis "cannot continue to live a productive life and contribute to society.

"I am fully aware that some people will now judge me in this light. But I hope to prove them wrong.

"I have been prescribed medication that may assist me greatly in slowing the progress of this disease and indeed improve my present condition."

The Newcastle Local Court has heard that the medication could take six months to work, but it is successful for only one in three sufferers.

Some abuse survivors say Wilson should step down because of his Alzheimer's diagnosis.

Wilson isn't keen to retire yet, however.

"If a point comes in the next eight years before my mandatory retirement, and I am advised by my doctors that the effects of Alzheimer's disease might be beginning to impair my ability to function properly as Archbishop, I will offer my resignation," he said.

Wilson says he has informed the Apostolic Nuncio in Australia of his condition and will provide him with the medical reports.

"I will update him regularly with the results of tests and consultations with my neurologist during the years ahead.

"I am in God's hands and I trust in the love and care of the Lord on the journey of life I have before me."

Source

• news.com.au
• ABC
• Image: The Advertiser

Power will be given to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to judge bishops "with regard to crimes of the abuse of office when connected to the abuse of minors".

A new office will be established within the CDF to work as a tribunal to judge bishops in this regard.

And the Pope will appoint a second-in-command at the CDF to head the tribunal and to work with the congregation's prefect.

The new accountability system includes five points agreed to by the Pope, which cover the above moves.

They are mandated for a five year period.

The system was developed by the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors and was backed by the Pope's C9 Council of Cardinals.

Vatican spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi said the power to fire prelates still remains with the Pope.

But the Pope accepts the decisions of those he puts in such tribunal offices, Fr Lombardi said.

The CDF is already tasked with investigating cases of priests accused of sexual abuse.

The first of the five points states that there is a "duty" to report "allegations of the abuse of office by a bishop connected to the abuse of minors" to the Vatican offices which oversee bishops.

The points do not specifically state who has the duty to report abuses of office by bishops.

They also don't spell out how those reports might be transferred by the Vatican congregations that oversee bishops to the doctrinal congregation for judgment.

The points also do not indicate how a bishop who comes under judgment will be able to defend himself.

Earlier this month, the head of the Centre for Child Protection based at the Pontifical Gregorian University complained there are no legal procedures or list of sanctions in canon law for bishops who violate canonical norms on sexual abuse.

The new system of accountability is seen as a response to such complaints.

Sources

• National Catholic Reporter
• The Tablet
• Image: Catholic World Report