BUSTED BISHOP

Ex-Archbishop Gets One Year of House Arrest for Sex Abuse Cover-Up

Philip Wilson, who remains a bishop, is the highest member of the Catholic Church to be convicted of the offense.

Former Australian Archbishop Philip Wilson will serve his one-year sentence from home after he pleaded guilty earlier this year for concealing child sexual abuse in the 1970s, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reports. Wilson, the most senior Catholic in the world to be charged with the offense, will serve six months of his sentence before he becomes eligible in February 2019. Magistrate Robert Stone told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that Wilson showed "no remorse or contrition" during his sentencing, and his "primary motive" was to protect the church. Pope Francis accepted Wilson’s resignation as Adelaide archbishop late last month, but he still remains an “ordained bishop within the Church.” Wilson will start his sentence on Tuesday while he plans to appeal the decision.