Image copyright EPA Image caption Archbishop Philip Wilson was convicted in May

A Catholic archbishop in Australia has been given a maximum sentence of 12 months in detention for concealing child sexual abuse in the 1970s.

Philip Wilson, now archbishop of Adelaide, is the most senior Catholic globally to be convicted of the crime.

He was found guilty by a court last month of covering up abuse by a paedophile priest in New South Wales.

On Tuesday, the court ordered Wilson to be assessed for "home detention" - meaning he will probably avoid jail.

Magistrate Robert Stone said the senior clergyman had shown "no remorse or contrition". He will be eligible for parole after six months.

Wilson has not resigned as archbishop, despite relinquishing his duties in the wake of his conviction.

In May, a court found he had failed to report his colleague James Patrick Fletcher's abuse of altar boys to police.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption 'Wilson ignored my story for decades'

Wilson, then a junior priest in the Maitland region, had dismissed young victims in a bid to protect the Church's reputation, Magistrate Stone ruled.

Fletcher was convicted of nine child sexual abuse charges in 2004, and died in jail two years later.

What did the court hear?

During his trial, Wilson denied that he had known about Fletcher's actions.

The archbishop's lawyers had sought to have the case thrown out on four occasions, citing the 67-year-old's diagnosis with Alzheimer's disease.

One of his victims, former altar boy Peter Creigh, told the court he had described the abuse to Wilson in detail in 1976, five years after it took place.

Magistrate Stone rejected Wilson's claims that he had no memory of the conversation, and said he had found Mr Creigh to be a reliable witness.

Another victim, who cannot be named, testified that Wilson had told him he was telling lies, and to recite 10 Hail Mary prayers as punishment.

What has been the reaction?

Survivors of abuse said they had mixed feelings about the sentence. One, Peter Gogarty, said it was "probably letting [Wilson] off a little bit too lightly".

However, Mr Gogarty said: "We have made history here in Australia.

"The highest-ranking church official to ever be brought to account [for] what we know was a worldwide, systematic abuse of children and the concealment of that abuse."

Mr Creigh did not attend the hearing on Tuesday due to health reasons.

But earlier he told the Adelaide Advertiser that "irrespective of the sentencing, the victory was had" in May when Wilson was convicted.

The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference said it hoped that the sentence would "bring some sense of peace" to Fletcher's victims. It added that the Church had made "substantial changes" to prevent abuse and its concealment.

Detention, but no resignation

Hywel Griffith, BBC News, Sydney

Inside the crowded courtroom, survivors and their families listened studiously as the magistrate delivered his decision.

There were gasps as Magistrate Stone said only a period of imprisonment would suffice, then disappointment at the prospect of home detention.

The sentence is significant - it means a senior Church figure could be made to wear an electronic tag, no longer free to go where he wants.

But what angers some victims is that the Church has refused to disown Philip Wilson, and that he holds on to his role as one of its leaders.

How has Australia been handling such cases?

In 2012, then Prime Minister Julia Gillard set up a royal commission, the country's highest form of public inquiry, to look into institutional responses to child sexual abuse.

By the time it had published its final report in December last year, it had handled 42,000 calls and referred more than 2,500 cases to the authorities.

It said institutions including churches, schools and sports clubs had "seriously failed" to protect children. Catholic institutions came in for particular criticism.

Image copyright EPA Image caption Mr Creigh reacts after Wilson was convicted in May

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said "a national tragedy" had been exposed.

How does this compare to convictions elsewhere?

The first cases of molestation by priests came to light in the 1980s. In the 1990s, revelations began of widespread abuse in Ireland, with cases spreading to more than a dozen countries this century.

Ireland, the US and Australia have carried out national inquiries, and there have been cover-up scandals such as in the Archdiocese of Boston in the US.

Although there have been convictions of priests for sexual abuse, in many cases accused clergymen were either moved or retired by their Church, with financial settlements agreed in some cases, particularly in the US.

Victims rights groups have complained the convictions do not often extend beyond priest level, with few senior figures brought to account, although a number have left their positions over their actions in sexual abuse cases, including Cardinal Bernard Law in Boston.

One of the most high-profile recent cases has been in Chile. All of its 34 Catholic bishops offered to resign. Pope Francis had handed them a 10-page document accusing Chile's Church hierarchy of negligence in sexual abuse cases.</s>Australian Archbishop Sentenced to Year's Detention for Not Reporting Sexual Abuse

The archbishop of Adelaide, Philip Wilson, is likely to serve his sentence under house arrest. A judge must confirm that arrangement next month.

ADELAIDE, Australia — The archbishop of Adelaide, Philip Wilson, was sentenced Tuesday to a 12-month sentence after being convicted in May of failing to report allegations of child sexual abuse disclosed to him in the 1970s.

The archbishop is likely to serve his sentence under house arrest and be fitted with an electronic monitoring bracelet, according to media reports. A judge must confirm that arrangement at an Aug. 14 hearing before it can be finalized.

Archbishop Wilson, 67, has not resigned from his position as archbishop of Adelaide.

Pope Francis appointed June 3 Jesuit Bishop Greg O’Kelly, bishop of Australia’s Diocese of Port Pirie, to serve as apostolic administrator of the archdiocese, entrusting him with day-to-day leadership responsibilities. Bishop O’Kelly, 76, is not expected to succeed Archbishop Wilson, especially since he has already surpassed the age at which bishops customarily submit a resignation letter to the pope.

At Archbishop Wilson’s sentencing hearing July 3, Magistrate Robert Stone said he had shown “no remorse or contrition” before imposing the sentence.

Archbishop Wilson was convicted of concealing child sexual abuse committed by a fellow parish priest in New South Wales in the 1970s. At the time, he had been ordained a priest for only one year.

The victims of the scandal, Peter Creigh and another altar boy who is unnamed for legal reasons, said they both had told Father Wilson of their abusive experience with Father James Fletcher.

During the trial, Creigh said that he told Father Wilson in graphic detail of the abuse in 1976, five years after it had occurred. However, Father Wilson said the conversation never took place, noting in a court hearing April 11, “I don’t think I would have forgotten that.”

The second victim said he had told Father Wilson of the abuse in the confessional in 1976, but said that Father Wilson had dismissed the boy with a penance, saying that he was lying. Archbishop Wilson said he would never tell someone in the confessional that they were untruthful and that he did not remember having seen the boy at all in 1976.

Father Fletcher was convicted of nine counts of sexual abuse and was jailed in 2006. He died of a stroke within the year. Archbishop Wilson said he had no previous suspicions about the integrity of Father Fletcher’s character.

Archbishop Wilson also told the court that if he had been notified of the scandal, he would have offered pastoral care to the victims and their families and reported the event to his superiors.

His legal team argued during the trial that child sexual abuse was not understood in the 1970s to be a crime that was required to be reported to authorities. Stone, however, said that protecting the Catholic Church was Father Wilson’s “primary motive” for failing to report the abuse allegations.</s>(CNN) — The highest ranking Catholic official to be convicted of covering up sex abuse has been spared prison and sentenced to six months’ home detention in Australia, due to his ailing health and age.

The Archbishop of Adelaide Philip Wilson was found guilty in May of concealing the abuse of altar boys in the 1970s by pedophile priest James Fletcher.

Wilson, 67, who stepped aside from his role after his conviction but has not yet resigned, had been facing a maximum penalty of two years in prison.

It is a landmark conviction that could have far-reaching implications for other clergy members as the child sexual abuse scandal continues to hit the Catholic Church globally.

Making his ruling in front of a packed courtroom in Newcastle, New South Wales, Magistrate Robert Stone handed Wilson a 12 month prison sentence. However, due to his physical condition, Stone said Wilson would be given six months’ home detention, followed by six months parole.

Magistrate Robert Stone told Wilson the reason for his sentence was due to the “the criminality of the concealment” and recognizing the “harm done to the community.”

The magistrate noted during his decision that there was now “so much public outcry” regarding child abuse cover up in the Catholic Church and other religious groups.

“Therefore I consider it a matter that should be regarded as serious,” said Stone. “By concealing abuse it is demonstrating you are placing the needs of the perpetrator above the child.”

Wilson did not say anything on leaving court, ignoring repeated questions from the media about whether he would resign or apologize to the victims.

After the magistrate handed down his decision he asked Wilson to stand and told him his sentence. Survivors in the court including victims of Fletcher muttered their frustration the archbishop was not sent to prison. “It’s basically a holiday,” one lady said.

Speaking outside the court, victim Peter Gogarty said he was “disappointed that it’s not a custodial sentence,” but expressed hope Wilson would be assessed as unsuitable for home detention and end up behind bars.

There will be a hearing on August 14 to determine whether home detention is appropriate for Wilson and where he could stay, with his sister’s house raised as one option.

“We have made history here in Australia, (this is the) highest ranked church official to ever be brought to account for what we know is a world wide systematic abuse of children and the concealment of that abuse,” Gogarty said. “We have done something in Australia which no one else has been able to manage.”

CNN understands from sources in Rome that Pope Francis will not ask Wilson, who has held his senior post for 18 years, to resign until it is decided if he will appeal.

Gogarty said Wilson should resign, adding that if he does not “then the Catholic Church becomes a bigger laughing stock than it already is.”

Des Cahil, a professor at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and adviser to the Australian Royal Commission on child abuse, said Wilson had received a “just and fair sentence, given the circumstances that he was a young priest at the time, firmly under the influence of a clericalism that says church law prevails over criminal law.”

Other victims advocates were less enthused. Chrissie Foster, who is credited with helping to establish the Royal Commission after two of her three daughters were abused by a Melbourne bishop, said it was “outrageous.”

“We all understand how clergy perpetrators got away with so many crimes against children and how the trademark coverups of priests like Wilson helped,” she added. “Today society expects more than a slap on the wrist of those who helped prolong clergy sexual crimes against children.”

Detective Jeff Little, who led the investigation into Wilson, emphasized outside court that the Archbishop could still end up in prison if he is assessed unsuitable for home detention.

“But the most important thing here is the actual conviction,” Little said.

Mary-Jane Creigh, the sister of Peter Creigh, the victim who was ignored by Wilson in 1976, read a statement from her brother outside court after he was too ill to attend.

Creigh praised the efforts of Little and other investigators, saying without them Wilson’s conviction “would not have been possible.”

He expressed hope it would lead to more probes into the Catholic Church, an “organization that has betrayed society on such a huge scale.”

In a statement, the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference said it hoped “today’s custodial sentence brings some sense of peace and healing to those abused by deceased priest James Fletcher.”

“The Church has made substantial changes to ensure that abuse and coverup are not part of Catholic life and that children are safe in our communities,” it added.

The statement did not mention whether Wilson should resign from his position or if the Church would take any additional action against him.

Wilson’s legal defense had argued during an earlier hearing two weeks ago that a conviction and a good behavior bond was sufficient for the crime.

The Archbishop’s lawyers previously argued he had been diagnosed with the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease which should preclude him from trial, but the bid was rejected.

Wilson was an assistant priest when Fletcher, a Catholic priest based in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales, abused altar boys in the mid-1970s.

The Archbishop, failed to report the abuse to authorities, allowing Fletcher to remain in the clergy and abuse other children in the following years.

Wilson and Fletcher went their separate ways after 1976. Wilson would begin his climb through the church’s hierarchy, which would culminate in him becoming the Archbishop of Adelaide in 2001.

Fletcher was never charged with any offending relating to his behavior in 1976. However, in 2004, Fletcher was convicted of eight counts of child abuse and sentenced to 10 years. The eight charges were committed between 1989 and 1991.

Fletcher died in prison in 2006, a year after he sentenced to 10 years. Wilson was charged in 2015, accused of failing to report Fletcher’s abuse to police.

During the case Crown prosecutor Gareth Harrison had to prove that former alter boy Peter Creig told Archbishop Wilson about the sexual abuse in 1976.

On the day Wilson was convicted, Criegh, who waived his right to a non-publication order on his name, said it was a “very, very significant day.”

“It’s a decision that will hopefully unravel the hypocrisy, the deceit, and the abuse of power and trust that the Church has displayed,” he told the ABC.

In October, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will issue a formal apology to child sexual abuse victims as part of the government’s response to a sweeping five-year inquiry in institutional child abuse.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse released its final report last December, describing a “serious failure” by Australia’s institutions to protect child victims and listing 409 recommendations.

The landmark report estimated that tens of thousands of children had been abused in Australian churches, youth groups, care homes and schools, in what the commission described as a “national tragedy.”

In recent weeks, Pope Francis has said he felt ashamed of the church’s failure to listen to victims of child sex abuse and has called for an end to the culture of abuse and coverup.</s>Australian Archbishop Philip Wilson was sentenced to 12 months in detention on Tuesday after being convicted in May of covering up a priest’s sexual abuse of four boys dating back to the 1970s.

Wilson, who is currently the archbishop of Adelaide, will be eligible for parole after six months, the BBC reports, and may end up not spending his sentence in prison.

Magistrate Robert Stone ordered Wilson to be assessed for home detention on Aug. 14; until then Wilson will be out on bail. Wilson faced a maximum of two years in prison.

“The whole of the community is devastated in so many ways by the decades of abuse and its concealment,” Stone said in court. “We are all the poorer for what has occurred.”

Wilson failed to act after learning that priest James Fletcher reportedly abused four altar boys in the Hunter Valley region outside Sydney. During the trial, Wilson denied knowing about any of Fletcher’s actions even though several of Fletcher’s victims testified in court that they had reported the abuse to Wilson directly.

One of Fletcher’s victims, Peter Creigh, testified that he told Wilson about the abuse five years after it took place, in 1976. An anonymous victim testified that when he reported the abuse to Wilson, the senior clergyman said the boy was telling lies and instructed him to recite 10 Hail Mary prayers.

Wilson, 67, is the most senior Roman Catholic Church official to be convicted of crimes involving child sexual abuse in the history of the church. He has not resigned as archbishop, but has handed over his responsibilities since his conviction in May.

“We have made history here in Australia,” one of Fletcher’s victims, Peter Gogarty, told reporters after the sentencing. “The highest-ranked church official to ever be brought to account for what we know was a worldwide systematic abuse of children and the concealment of that abuse. So I’m content that we’ve done something in Australia that nobody else has been able to manage.”

“In such circumstances we should be very aware of the impact on survivors, their families and all those who love them. I have witnessed the anguish and grief of victims. The church must continue all efforts to listen and support them,” said Bishop Greg O’Kelly SJ, the apostolic administrator of the Adelaide Archdiocese. “I reiterate that our commitment to the safety of every child in our Church and schools is paramount.”</s>The 'Healing Bishop': How Archbishop Philip Wilson rose to prominence in the Catholic Church

Adelaide Archbishop Philip Wilson has been sentenced to 12 months' detention for concealing child sexual abuse.

Here's a look at how the man once known as the "Healing Bishop" rose through the ranks, and what his sentencing means as the most senior Catholic convicted of covering up abuse.

Is Archbishop Wilson senior in the context of the Catholic church?

Yes and no, according to Catholic commentator, church historian and former priest Paul Collins.

"It's simply from his title as an Archbishop," Mr Collins said.

"He's not particularly senior in terms of the pecking order of the Catholic Church, but certainly as an archbishop and the Archbishop of Adelaide, that makes him the most senior person ever convicted.

"Certainly in the English-speaking world… no one as senior as an archbishop has actually been charged with a failure to report a crime."

Wilson was the Bishop of Wollongong before being elevated to Archbishop of Adelaide — and was also the President of the Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference.

"In terms of the Australian bishops, he would be seen as both an influential and important bishop," he said.

"There's no two ways about that — although with due respect to Adelaide — Adelaide is not seen as necessarily a particularly prestigious diocese."

The more priests, parishes and parishioners, the more prestigious the diocese, ranking Melbourne at the top, followed by Paramatta and Sydney.

During his time as the Bishop of Wollongong, Wilson earned the nickname "The Healing Bishop" for his work with victims of child sexual abuse.

"He was very effective as Bishop of Wollongong," Mr Collins said.

"Wollongong had been a diocese that had been run down by his predecessor.

"It was badly administered and not in good shape and there were a couple of quite bad paedophile cases in Wollongong and they had not been dealt with particularly adequately."

He said when Wilson went to Wollongong "he certainly pulled the diocese into line".

"There's no doubt he did a very good job in the diocese, he did a very good job not just administratively but pastorally as well and it was because of respect for his, I think, good performance in Wollongong that he went up the ladder to be appointed Archbishop of Adelaide."

What was Philip Wilson actually charged with?

In 2015 he was charged with concealing a serious indictable offence, under Section 316 of the New South Wales Crimes Act which states:

University of New South Wales Law Professor Annie Cossins described it as a very general offence often used against people who were affiliated with one another, such as gang members.

"If you were charged with this offence, the prosecution has to prove that you knew or you believed that some particular serious indictable offence had been committed and you basically did nothing about it," she said.

"You had no reasonable excuse for not bringing that information to the attention of the police or some other appropriate authority.

"It's not an offence that is well used by police. It's not regularly prosecuted."

The case against Wilson centred around his responsibility to report abuse to police in the mid-2000s, rather than in the 1970s, when he was first made aware of it.

He was charged for not divulging information which may have helped secure the conviction of paedophile priest Jim Fletcher between 2004 and 2006, when he was facing justice for his crimes.

"It does [set a precedent] in the sense that you would hope that the police would be more willing to charge people — where there's sufficient evidence of course — with this offence," Professor Cossins said.

Dr Cossins questioned whether Wilson would have been charged were it not for the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, which held 57 hearings over five years with some 1,300 witness accounts and more than 8,000 personal stories.

"I think the Royal Commission has really brought this issue to the fore," she said.

"It's pulled aside the curtain on the extent of cover up of child sexual abuse.

"Very few in the community — either as professionals or lay people — knew of the extent of it. Now, individual victims would have known that they told someone at some time 20 years ago, say, and nothing was done about it.

"But individual victims and the rest of the community haven't known how widespread it is, so yes, the Royal Commission has revealed that it seemed to be normal every day practice in some institutions to move the person on, not say anything and maybe give the victim a payout or something."

The Royal Commission recommended governments across Australia have laws which ensure people in religious ministry are required to report child sexual abuse.

Professor Cossins thinks that could mean new laws are needed in some states.

"It depends on whether or not governments decide that a specific offence — covering up child sexual abuse — should be easier to prosecute or whether something like Section 316 already does the job," she said.

"It's going to depend on whether or not state governments think they already have the legislation on their statute books or whether the specific recommendation by the Royal Commission is an improvement on what they already have."</s>Survivors say Australia has made history with a landmark conviction even if Adelaide's Catholic Archbishop does not end up in jail for concealing child sexual abuse.

Philip Wilson, the most senior Catholic official in the world to be convicted of concealing child sex abuse, is likely to serve half of his 12-month sentence in home detention and the remainder on parole.

The 67-year-old will be eligible for parole after six months, emailed court documents show.

The archbishop faced a maximum term of two years in jail and the Newcastle Herald newspaper reported he showed no emotion in court on Tuesday when the sentence was handed down at Newcastle Local Court, 160km north of Sydney.

Dressed in black and wearing a cleric's collar, Wilson made no remarks to journalists outside the court, TV footage showed.

Wilson stood aside last month as the archbishop of Adelaide and is a former president of the Catholic Church's top body in Australia. The Catholic Archdiocese of Adelaide had no immediate comment.

The court was told in December last year that Wilson had early stage Alzheimer's disease, a Catholic Church spokesman said last month, a factor that may be taken in to account in determining where he serves the term.

In May, Wilson was convicted of covering up a serious indictable offence by another priest, James Fletcher, after being told about it in 1976 when he was an assistant parish priest in the state of New South Wales.

Lawyers for Wilson, who maintained his innocence throughout the legal process, had argued that he did not know that Fletcher had abused a boy. Fletcher was found guilty in 2004 of nine counts of child sexual abuse and died in jail in 2006 following a stroke.

Originally from the rural Hunter Valley in New South Wales where he served as a young priest, Wilson stepped down as archbishop of Adelaide and was replaced by a Vatican-appointed administrator.

Last year, Australia completed a five-year government-appointed inquiry into child sex abuse in churches and other institutions, amid allegations worldwide that churches had protected paedophile priests by moving them from parish to parish.

The inquiry heard that seven percent of Catholic priests working in Australia between 1950 and 2010 had been accused of child sex crimes and that nearly 1100 people had filed child sexual assault claims against the Anglican Church over 35 years.

Peter Gogarty, a victim of the pedophile priest at the centre of the concealment case, said Wilson had probably been let off "a little bit too lightly" but took comfort in his conviction.

"We have made history here in Australia," Mr Gogarty told reporters outside the Newcastle court.

"The highest ranked Catholic official to ever be brought to account for what we know was a worldwide systematic abuse of children and the concealment of that abuse. So I am content that we've done something in Australia that nobody else has been able to manage."

Another of Fletcher's victims, Daniel Feenan, would have preferred to see Wilson leave the court in handcuffs but hailed the magistrate's decision to impose a 12-month sentence.

"He is the most senior Catholic to ever be charged and he is actually giving him 50 per cent of the maximum term. That is groundbreaking in itself."

The Catholic Church said it hoped the sentence brought some peace for the victims of Fletcher, who died in jail in 2006.

"The Catholic bishops of Australia acknowledge that the effects of sexual abuse can last a lifetime, but we hope that today's custodial sentence brings some sense of peace and healing to those abused by deceased priest James Fletcher."

The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference statement acknowledged the courage of survivors in coming forward, saying they had been vital in helping the church learn the lesson of its shameful history of abuse and concealment.

Mr Gogarty and Mr Feenan called for Wilson, who has stood down as Adelaide archbishop, to resign or be removed by Pope Francis.

"If the archbishop does not resign, then the Catholic Church becomes a bigger laughing stock than it already is," Mr Gogarty said.

Bishop Greg O'Kelly, who has administrative and executive authority in the Adelaide archdiocese, did not comment on the sentence but said the church must continue to support survivors.

"We should be very aware of the impact on survivors, their families and all those who love them," the archdiocese's apostolic administrator said.

"I have witnessed the anguish and grief of victims. The church must continue all efforts to listen and support them."

The ACBC said the church had made substantial changes to ensure abuse and cover-up are not part of Catholic life and children are safe.</s>Adelaide Archbishop Philip Wilson will appeal his conviction for concealing child sex crimes after refusing to resign and despite calls for his resignation from Malcolm Turnbull, Bill Shorten and senior Catholic priest Frank Brennan.

Wilson announced his intention to appeal to the District Court in a statement a day after he was sentenced to 12 months’ jail, and after senior Australian politicians voiced their concern at the lack of a public response from the Catholic Church.

“Resigning immediately is the very least he can do in this circumstance,” said Opposition Leader Bill Shorten several hours after the Prime Minister said he was surprised that Wilson, 67, hadn’t already resigned after he was convicted on May 22.

In a statement on Wednesday Wilson said he was “conscious of calls for me to resign” and he had “taken them very seriously”.

“However, at this time, I am entitled to exercise my legal rights and to follow the due process of law,” he said.</s>The archbishop of Adelaide, Philip Wilson, will appeal his conviction and sentence for concealing child sexual abuse.

Wilson is the most senior Catholic official in the world to be convicted of the crime. On Tuesday, Magistrate Robert Stone in Newcastle local court sentenced the 67-year-old to 12 months’ imprisonment with a non-parole period of six months. He ordered that Wilson be assessed for home detention.

Wilson was found guilty in May of failing to report to police the abuse of two altar boys by a paedophile priest, James Fletcher, in the 1970s.

On Wednesday afternoon Wilson announced he would lodge an appeal.

“I am conscious of calls for me to resign and have taken them very

seriously,” he said in a statement.

“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.

“However, if I am unsuccessful in my appeal, I will immediately offer my resignation to the Holy See.”

The archdiocese cannot remove Wilson from his role – only Pope Francis has the authority.

The prime minister and opposition leader are among those calling on him to quit.



“I am surprised that he has not resigned,” Malcolm Turnbull told reporters on Wednesday. “Clearly, given the outcome of the case, the lawsuit and prosecution, he should resign.”



Bill Shorten said the justice system had unequivocally spoken.



“Mr Wilson’s action were inexcusable and his position is untenable,” he said in a statement.



Peter Creigh and another altar boy gave evidence that they told Wilson in 1976 that Fletcher had repeatedly abused them in the New South Wales Hunter region but that Fletcher, who was then an assistant priest, had done nothing.

Creigh was 10 years old at the time. The second altar boy, who can’t be named for legal reasons, said he was about 11 when he went into the confessional box to tell Wilson that Fletcher had abused him. He said Wilson had told him he was telling lies because Fletcher “was a good bloke”.

Wilson told the court during the magistrate-only trial that he couldn’t remember being told about the abuse. The court heard he is potentially suffering from the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. But in delivering his sentence Stone said Wilson was primarily motivated by a desire to protect the Catholic church and that “there is no remorse or contrition showed by the offender”.</s>Mrs Halpin said she was disappointed Wilson might serve his sentence in his sister’s home on the Central Coast rather than jail, but was happy that magistrate Robert Stone rejected Wilson’s lawyer’s submission that a good behaviour bond was a suitable penalty. Wilson, 67, was pale as he stood in the courtroom shortly after 10.40am on Tuesday to learn his sentence. Magistrate Stone found Wilson’s primary motive for failing to tell police in 2004 about alleged offences by Fletcher in the 1970s was to protect the church, and he had shown no remorse or contrition. Mr Stone said he was “firmly of the opinion that a sentence of imprisonment is the only appropriate sentence”, after acknowledging the “public outcry and outrage over what has transpired by way of abuse and concealment, not only by the Catholic Church, but other major religious organisations and other associations”.

The extent of child sexual abuse and its concealment “affects the fabric of our society and we are all the poorer for what has occurred”, Mr Stone said. “The whole of the community is devastated in so many ways by the decades of abuse and its concealment by people they trusted and respected. “Those who conceal abuse and shield perpetrators from accountability … are demonstrating that you are placing the needs of the perpetrator as a higher priority over the needs of victims and their families,” Mr Stone said. “In this case the offender is a senior figure in one of the most respected institutions in our society. What has occurred is the infliction of gross acts of sexual abuse on people who were young, defenceless and vulnerable, committed for sexual gratification.” People of “simple faith” who respected and trusted their local parish priest were “betrayed most callously and cruelly … not only by the perpetrator but, as in this case, by those who knew and concealed it”.

Maitland-Newcastle Catholic Bishop Bill Wright said the Cessnock-born archbishop’s conviction was a “source of great grief and shock to the Catholic community here” and was also a deep shock to him personally. “It is a deep shock and disappointment that this man has been found guilty of covering up abuse” and a “highly disturbing reflection on the archbishop”. Peter Gogarty who was abused by priest Jim Fletcher. Bishop Wright said the Catholic community felt grief for the two teenage boys who reported abuse by Fletcher to the then Father Wilson in 1976. “Their trust was betrayed when no effective action was taken and they were deprived of the care they should have received at the time,” Bishop Wright said.

There was also grief for other boys who were subsequently abused by Fletcher, including Mr Gogarty and Daniel Feenan, whose report to police in 2003 eventually led to Fletcher’s conviction, Bishop Wright said. Fletcher died in jail in 2006. In a statement the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference said it hoped Wilson’s custodial sentence “brings some sense of peace and healing to those abused by deceased priest James Fletcher”. “It takes great courage for survivors to come forward to tell their stories. Survivors have been vital in helping us learn the lesson of our shameful history of abuse and concealment, which was laid bare in the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse and state inquiries, including the NSW Special Commission of Inquiry” in Newcastle in 2013. Abuse survivors Daniel Feenan said he would have preferred to see Wilson leave court in handcuffs NSW Greens MP and justice spokesperson David Shoebridge said Wilson’s conviction and sentence required a strong response from the Catholic Church.

“If this does not finally prompt the Catholic Church to sack the archbishop then there really is no hope for the institution,” said Mr Shoebridge, who said home detention “hardly seems appropriate given the gross breach of trust and the proven illegality”. It was difficult for many survivors to accept, but “whatever its limits, Wilson’s sentencing is historic and finally sees a church leader held to account”, he said. Mr O’Toole and Mr Gogarty said the conviction and sentence made history in Australia and around the world. “What this says is nobody – particularly in Australia but I hope this ripples around the world - nobody is above the law,” Mr Gogarty said. Both men expect more people within the Catholic Church and beyond to be charged with conceal offences.

“We’ve heard evidence from people in the past few years who may be nervous now and that’s appropriate, I think they should be nervous,” Mr Gogarty said. “We’ve made history here in Australia. The highest ranked church official to ever be brought to account for what we know was a worldwide systematic abuse of children and concealment of that abuse. “So I’m content that we’ve done something in Australia that nobody else has been able to manage.” Archbishop Wilson was released on bail until a final hearing in August after he is assessed for whether he can serve the 12-month jail sentence as home detention.</s>A Roman Catholic archbishop in Australia convicted of covering up child sex abuse by a fellow priest that occurred more than four decades ago, has been sentenced to a year of home detention.

Newcastle Magistrate Robert Stone handed down the sentence on Tuesday, saying Adelaide Archbishop Philip Wilson had shown "no remorse or contrition" for covering up for Father Jim Fletcher, who was convicted on nine counts of abuse of boys in 2004. He died in prison two years later.

Wilson, 67, is the most senior Catholic cleric to be found guilty of concealing abuse. Stone said he could be eligible for parole in six months. He had faced a maximum sentence of two years in prison.

Stone said Wilson sought "to protect the church and its image" by covering up for Fletcher.

"The whole of the community is devastated in so many ways by the decades of abuse and its concealment," the magistrate said. "We are all the poorer for what has occurred."

According to The Sydney Morning Herald:



"[Stone] ... said a suspended jail term did not support the need to deter others from similar offending and due to his age Wilson would likely not be suitable for an intensive corrections order (ICO), a form of custodial sentence served in the community. That left full-time jail or home detention and given Wilson's age, mental and physical conditions, and that he had nothing on his criminal record Mr Stone found he could be adequately punished with a 12-month home detention order."



The Herald reports that there were "audible groans from the public gallery as Mr. Stone confirmed Wilson would not be heading to jail ..."

The sentence, however, will not take effect until after an Aug. 14 hearing on whether Wilson — who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in November --would be suitable for serving out the sentence in the home of a family member.

Following his conviction in May, Wilson stepped aside from his duties as archbishop but declined to relinquish the post. The Vatican appointed Bishop Gregory O'Kelly as a caretaker over the archdiocese, but has not moved to permanently replace Wilson.

Outside the courtroom on Tuesday, survivors of abuse carried signs calling the Catholic Church a "fraudulent cult" and calling on Wilson to quit his prestigious post.

Wilson had testified in April that he did not remember conversations from the 1970s in which two altar boys said they told him of abuse by Fletcher. He insisted, however, that it was not a question of his memory, but that the conversation never took place.

Also in May, an Australian magistrate ordered Cardinal George Pell, one of the Vatican's senior-most officials, to stand trial on sexual abuse allegations dating back decades. Pell is 77.

Last year, Australia reported the results of a landmark, five-year study of abuse in which it concluded that 7 percent of priests who worked in Australia between 1950 and 2009 had been accused of child sex abuse.
Roman Catholic Archbishop of Adelaide, Philip Wilson, is sentenced to 12 months in detention for covering up child sexual abuse in the 1970s. Pope Francis appoints Port Pirie Bishop Gregory O'Kelly as Apostolic Administrator, but with special near-full powers to govern the Archdiocese, though for now Wilson is still the Archbishop.