Australian bishop acknowledges 8-year delay in justice in Indigenous abuse case but defends process
- VATICAN CITY -- A top Australian Catholic bishop has acknowledged the eight-year delay in bringing a fellow bishop to justice on charges he sexually abused young Indigenous men.
- But he defended the church’s decision to let police take the lead in the case as a necessary guarantee.
- Archbishop Timothy Costelloe, president of the Australian Bishops Conference, said Friday he hoped the church could soon reopen its own in-house legal procedures against former Broome Bishop Christopher Saunders now that he has been sentenced criminally.
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- VATICAN CITY -- A top Australian Catholic bishop has acknowledged the eight-year delay in bringing a fellow bishop to justice on charges he sexually abused young Indigenous men.
- But he defended the church’s decision to let police take the lead in the case as a necessary guarantee.
- Archbishop Timothy Costelloe, president of the Australian Bishops Conference, said Friday he hoped the church could soon reopen its own in-house legal procedures against former Broome Bishop Christopher Saunders now that he has been sentenced criminally.
Sources: ABC News