AUSTRALIA
The Age

AAP

The former head of the Salesian Catholic order in Australia has faced court on charges of sexually abusing Victorian children more than 30 years ago.

Priest Julian Benedict Fox, 67, returned from Rome to face three charges of buggery, five charges of indecent assault and two charges of assault in Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday.

Police allege Fox abused four boys between 1976 and 1985 in Ferntree Gully, in Melbourne’s outer east, and in Sunbury, about 40km northwest of the city.

Police on Monday described the priest’s return to Victoria as a breakthrough in co-operation between Victoria Police and the Catholic Church.