CATHOLIC Archbishop of Adelaide Philip Wilson has been charged with concealing child sex abuse in the Hunter region in NSW.

Police will allege the archbishop, who was born in Cessnock, failed to report child sex abuse allegedly committed by paedophile priest Jim Fletcher when both men were working in the Maitland diocese near Newcastle in the 1970s, the Australian reports.

Fletcher died in 2006 after being jailed for raping a 13-year-old boy between 1989 and 1991.

Last year, a Special Commission of Inquiry found he “had an extensive history of perpetrating child sexual abuse in the diocese, exclusively abusing young males, particularly altar boys”.

Archbishop Wilson’s alleged offence carries a potential sentence of up to two years in prison.

The NSW Crimes Act states that if a “person who knows or believes that the offence has been committed … fails without reasonable excuse to bring that information to the attention of a member of the Police Force or other appropriate authority, that other person is liable to imprisonment for two years”.

media_camera The Archbishop of Adelaide will face court charged with covering up child sex abuse by the Catholic Church. Picture: Jay Town

A statement from NSW Police this afternoon said: “A man has been charged after allegedly concealing a serious offence regarding child sexual abuse in the Hunter region.

“Strike Force Lantle was initiated in 2010 to investigate allegations of concealment of serious offences related to child abuse by clergy formerly and currently attached to the Maitland-Newcastle Diocese of the Catholic Church.

“Police will allege a 64-year-old man, of South Australia, concealed a serious offence.

“Today (Tuesday 17 March 2015), a future court attendance notice was served for conceal serious offence. The man is due to appear in Newcastle Local Court on Thursday, 30 April 2015.”

Archbishop Wilson is due to appear in Newcastle Local Court on April 30. He has not yet entered a plea.

The archbishop did issue a statement this afternoon saying he was “disappointed to have been notified by the NSW Police that it has decided to file a charge in respect of this matter”.

“The suggestion appears to be that I failed to bring to the attention of police a conversation I am alleged to have had in 1976, when I was a junior priest, that a now deceased priest had abused a child.

“From the time this was first brought to my attention last year, I have completely denied the allegation. I intend to vigorously defend my innocence through the judicial system and I have retained Senior Counsel, Mr Ian Temby AO, who will represent me in respect of it.

“I am unable to make any further comment at this stage, but I would like to take this opportunity to reaffirm my commitment to dealing proactively with the issue of child sexual abuse and the implementation of best-practice child protection measures which I have pioneered since becoming a bishop.

“My efforts in this regard have been widely acknowledged, including as a result of evidence I gave to hearings of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in NSW and SA.

“I would again like to express my deep sorrow for the devastating impact of clerical sex abuse on victims and their families, and I give an assurance that despite this charge, I will continue to do what I can to protect the children in our care in the Archdiocese of Adelaide.

“I intend to take some leave to consult with a wide range of people in response to the information I have received today.”