One of the oldest Catholics in the nation to be accused of sex crimes is an Australian bishop who is being charged with rape and indecent assault.
On Wednesday night, child abuse detectives in Western Australia took action in response to a robust internal Vatican investigation that led to the arrest of Emeritus Bishop Christopher Alan Saunders.
He is accused of two counts of sexual penetration without consent, which is the legal equivalent of rape, and fourteen counts of unlawful and indecent assault, according to the police.
In addition, the 74-year-old is accused of three counts of "indecently dealing with a child" between the ages of 16 and 18. He is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday.
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The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference president, Timothy Costelloe, the archbishop of Perth, described the accusations as "deeply distressing."
"It is right and proper, and indeed necessary, that all such allegations be thoroughly investigated," he said in a press release.
According to court records, Saunders' alleged offenses happened between 2008 and 2014.
Saunders oversaw the Diocese of Broome, a vast coastal area in northwest Australia dotted with numerous isolated Aboriginal communities, for over 20 years.
When the first reports of his alleged sexual abuse appeared in the local media in 2020, he resigned from his position as bishop but kept his honorific title of "emeritus bishop."
Saunders has remained unwavering in his denials, and an initial police investigation could not produce enough evidence to bring charges against him.
However, persistent rumors about the clergyman prompted the Vatican to use broad authorities initially granted by Pope Francis to begin its investigation in 2022.
To assist the church in looking into allegations of sexual abuse at the highest levels, the powers known as "Vos estis lux mundi" (which translates to "You are the light of the world" in Latin) were developed in 2019.
Police were later informed of the confidential church findings, and they reopened their investigation.
The late Australian cardinal and Vatican operative George Pell was imprisoned in 2019 on allegations of sexual abuse; however, his convictions were overturned the following year.
