Turnbull calls on pope to sack bishop for cover-up
Philip Wilson, who was sentenced to a year’s detention this month, has stepped aside but has not resigned
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said on Thursday that Pope Francis must sack an Australian archbishop convicted of concealing child sex abuse. In May, Archbishop Philip Wilson, 67, became the most senior Catholic cleric to be convicted of not disclosing to police abuse by another priest. Wilson, who was sentenced to a year’s detention this month, has stepped aside as archbishop of Adelaide in South Australia state but has not resigned. The usual procedure is for a bishop to offer his resignation to the pope, but Wilson is insisting he will do so only if he is unsuccessful in an appeal. Turnbull, who has previously called on Wilson to resign, escalated his criticism of the archbishop remaining in office. "He should have resigned and the time has come for the pope to sack him," Turnbull told reporters in Sydney. "I think the time has come now for the ultimate authority in the church to take action and sack him." The archdiocese of Adelaide was not immediately available for comment. Th...
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