Pope Francis on Monday, accepted the resignation of the Australian archbishop, Philip Wilson.
Australian Archbishop, who is the most senior Catholic official in the world resigned on Monday.
The Catholic Bishops Conference of the confirmed this in a statement on Monday.
The 67-year-old Catholic cleric was convicted of covering up child sexual abuse in May and was later sentenced to 12 months in jail for failing to report sexual abuse of two altar boys by a paedophile priest in the 1970s to the police.
According to the statement, Pope Francis has accepted Wilson’s resignation.
The statement reads, “The Holy Father Francis accepted the resignation of the pastoral government of the Archdiocese of Adelaide (Australia), presented by S.E. Mons. Philip Edward Wilson.”
Wilson, the archbishop of Adelaide, has also forwarded an appeal against his conviction, which is set to continue.
Calls for his resignation came from all quarters, including Australian Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, who welcomed Wilson’s resignation.
“I welcome Philip Wilson’s resignation as Archbishop of Adelaide today, which belatedly recognises the many calls, including my own, for him to resign,’’ Turnbull said in a statement.
“There is no more important responsibility for community and church leaders than the protection of children.’’
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