(AUSTRALIA)
The Catholic Leader [Archdiocese of Brisbane, Australia]

August 20, 2026

By Kymberlee Gomes

WHILE the court in Australia decides the fate of former Broome Bishop Christopher Saunders, his position in the Church has been left to Rome.

Only a pope can appoint or laicise a bishop.

Last week, Saunders, was found guilty of one count of sexual penetration and 12 counts of indecent assault – which occurred while he was bishop of Broome for about 25 years.

He was found not guilty on six other charges and seven other charges were dropped.

Saunders, 76, did not testify at his trial but jurors heard him deny the allegations through recordings of his police interviews.

In his opening statement in July, his lawyer Tony Hager told the jury his client denied the sexual allegations, the ABC reported. 

Australian Catholic Bishops Conference president Archbishop Timothy Costelloe said the crimes by Saunders were a betrayal of everything that the Gospel and the Catholic Church stood for.

The bishops of Australia joined Broome Bishop Tim Norton in his apology to all the victims.

“(We too) are deeply sorry for the hurt they have experienced,” the bishops said.

“We are sorry for the shame they have endured. We are sorry that it has taken so long for their voices to be heard and for their pain to be acknowledged. We will do all we can to reach out to them for hope and healing,” they said, reiterating Bishop Norton’s words.

Archbishop Costello praised the courage of victims and witnesses and acknowledged the persistence of the Western Australia Police Force.

The crimes of which Saunders had been found guilty were offences against both the civil law and the law of the Church, he said.

Church recommences investigation

Saunders is in custody and a sentencing hearing is set down for September 21.

WA Police first investigated Saunders in 2018, long before the 2020 allegations that he misused church funds.

That police case closed without charges in 2021, the same year Saunders left his role as bishop.  

The Church then opened its own investigation and a report was sent to the Vatican alleging abuse of young Indigenous men.  

Police then reopened their case and Saunders was arrested in 2024.

“With the conclusion of the trial the Church’s investigation can now recommence,” Archbishop Costelloe said.

“Decisions about the position of the former bishop of Broome in the Church will therefore be determined by Rome.”

He said Church authorities had cooperated fully with the police throughout this process.

When Church leaders face scrutiny

Archbishop Costelloe said it was important that the Church followed clear protocols in its investigations.

• Among these protocols is that of ensuring that complaints against bishops and other senior Church leaders are managed not by other bishops but by independent bodies. This is to avoid any possibility of “in-house” (and potentially biased) investigations.
• A second fundamental protocol is that of temporarily suspending any Church investigations while formal police enquiries are taking place. This is to avoid any possibility of Church actions interfering with or compromising the integrity of the police investigations.

He said these two related protocols had been followed in the Saunders case.

“The intention was always to allow the allegations against the former bishop to be dealt with objectively and transparently, and independently of the Church,” Archbishop Costelloe said.

“This has now been achieved.”

He said it was demoralising and humbling that the Church in Australia was still being confronted by such failures.

“We must never think that the sexual abuse crisis is somehow behind us,” Archbishop Costelloe said.

“We must never relax our vigilance or lower our expectations in relation to safeguarding. There is still much to do.”