Broome Catholic Bishop Christopher Saunders faces allegations of 'very serious' sex abuse in Vatican
- ruby457
- Sep 19, 2023
- 1 min read
The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference has describedsex abuse allegations against a prominent WA church leader as "deeply distressing." The long-serving Catholic Bishop of Broome, Christopher Saunders, has been the subject of a Vatican-led investigation into allegations of sexual and professional misconduct, first revealed by the ABC in 2020.
The 73-year-old, who lives in the Kimberley town, denies any wrongdoing.
He resigned from his post in August 2021 and retains the title Emeritus Bishop of Broome.
Extracts from the report to the Holy See which have been made public allege the Bishop sexually assaulted four teenagers and young men, potentially groomed another 67 and kept a cache of guns and cash on church premises.
The Archbishop of Perth Timothy Costelloe, who is also the Conference president, said the allegations levelled at the Bishop in the report were "very serious" and "deeply distressing".
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