Brisbane, Australia CNN —A senior Australian Catholic clergyman has been charged with historical sex offenses allegedly committed while he was serving as the bishop of Broome, a remote diocese in Western Australia.
Emeritus Bishop Christopher Saunders was arrested on Wednesday at his home in Broome, where he became bishop in 1996, according to CNN affiliate Seven News.
Saunders is the highest-ranking Australian Catholic official charged with historical sex abuse charges since Cardinal George Pell faced court over historical assaults allegedly committed in the late 1990s.
Of the survivors who reported being abused in a religious institution, 61.4% said the abuse occurred in a Catholic organization.
The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse reported that 7% of Australian Catholic priests had been accused of abusing children.
Persons:
Australia CNN —, Bishop Christopher Saunders, Saunders, Timothy Costelloe, ” Costelloe, ”, Costelloe, Cardinal George Pell, Pell
Organizations:
Australia CNN, Australian Catholic, CNN, Seven News . Police, Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, Catholic Bishops Conference, WA, Police, Australian, Australia’s, Catholic, Royal Commission
Locations:
Brisbane, Australia, Broome, Western Australia, Rome