The slow-burn saga of Broome bishop Christopher Saunders has again hit national headlines with an independent report commissioned by the Vatican this week describing him as a sexual predator.
Bishop Saunders strenuously denies any wrongdoing and has never been charged with an offence.
But the Vatican will soon have to decide whether he remains an honoured emeritus Bishop or is defrocked in disgrace.
The case has much in common with international Catholic Church abuse cases — allegations of secrecy, sexual misconduct and abuses of power.
But at the heart of it are some of the most remote and vulnerable communities in Australia, where some deeply religious Aboriginal elders believe speaking out against the church can trigger floods and other natural disasters.
Over the past four years there’s been a distinctly outback flavour to this slowly unfolding crisis.
To this day, Bishop Saunders has a beer named after him at a popular Broome brewery, where a large painting of the cleric…
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