Australian church abuse victims welcome archbishop’s resignation

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Australians welcomed the resignation of Archbishop Philip Wilson on Tuesday, who resisted stepping down for two months after becoming the world’s highest-ranking Catholic cleric found guilty of covering up child sex abuse.

Wilson, 67, came under pressure from abuse victims, other bishops and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull after he was convicted of failing to tell police that two victims told him in 1976 that they had been abused by another priest, James Fletcher.

Wilson, who maintains his innocence, resigned as archbishop of Adelaide, South Australia, but refused to resign because he had to appeal against his conviction.

He added that on July 20 he sent a letter of resignation to Pope Francis, who accepted it on Monday.

“Philip dug in his heels and I thought he would do it a little longer, so it was a surprise to us, but it’s very, very welcomed news,” Peter Creigh, one of Fletcher’s victims, told Australian Broadcasting Corp. . TV.

In 2004, Fletcher was found guilty of nine counts of child sexual abuse and died in prison in 2006 after suffering a stroke.

Wilson said in a statement late Monday that he decided to resign because he had become “increasingly concerned about the increasing level of harm that my recent conviction is causing to society,” particularly Fletcher’s victims.

Broken Rites, a support group for victims of abuse in the Catholic Church, said Wilson’s resignation was “too little, too late.”

“It is disappointing for the victims that he claims he is doing this for them. Why didn’t he do it earlier?” said Broken Rites spokeswoman Chris MacIsaac.

Bishop Greg O’Kelly, who has been appointed to lead the Archdiocese of Adelaide until Francis appoints a new archbishop, told reporters that Wilson’s resignation ended a period of uncertainty and anxiety in the archdiocese and beyond.

He praised Wilson’s work on behalf of victims in recent years but acknowledged that his refusal to resign after his conviction had rekindled memories of the pain the church had inflicted on abuse victims.

“It’s something we deeply regret – harming people who have already been harmed,” O’Kelly told a news conference in Adelaide.

(Reporting by Sonali Paul; Editing by Paul Tait)