SYDNEY: An Australian archbishop was Tuesday found guilty of covering up child sex abuse in the 1970s -- one of the highest-ranked church officials globally to be successfully prosecuted for such offences. The charges, laid in 2015, stemmed from the work of Strike Force Lantle, which since 2010 investigated claims of child abuse concealment by former and current clergy attached to the Maitland-Newcastle Diocese of the Catholic Church. His conviction is another headache for Pope Francis, whose papacy has been haunted by allegations of sex abuse among Catholic priests. Last week, 34 Chilean bishops announced their resignation over a child sex abuse scandal. Several members of the Chilean church hierarchy are accused by victims of ignoring and covering up child abuse by Chilean paedophile priest Fernando Karadima during the 1980s and 1990s.

Source: Bangkok Post May 22, 2018 03:56 UTC