Kimberley leaders hope jailing of 'evil' Broome bishop exposes more abusers

Albert Wiggan describes the jailing of disgraced bishop Christopher Saunders as like "cutting off the head of a snake".

The Aboriginal community leader describes the Catholic cleric as an "evil predator" and is urging people to call out sex abusers. 

"They’ve exposed this bloke for who he is," Mr Wiggan said.

"But the community has to become more vigilant about exposing this type of behaviour."

Mr Wiggan says he knew Saunders since childhood, but had never experienced inappropriate behaviour.

But he feels deeply for those who did, describing a sense of betrayal that is still sinking in.

It is a call for action echoed by current Bishop of Broome Tim Norton, who concedes the Catholic Church has been too slow to act.

"As a church I hope we are learning in this very deep and difficult process," Bishop Norton said.

"I sense we are but it's a slow pace. It needs to be a lot faster."

Used to be known as a 'hero'

Once a trusted member of the community, the bishop was sentenced to more than six years prison on Wednesday for sexually assaulting two young men.

The evidence laid bare during a three-week trial was a far cry from the "hero" character Albert Wiggan was once told about as a child.

"There was folklore about him ... we know about him through stories our parents would share," Mr Wiggan said.

He said families in remote Aboriginal communities grew to trust him with the people they loved most.

"It makes him incredibly evil in a way ... he did a really good job of convincing people he was a good person,"

Mr Wiggan said.

Saunders first arrived at the Broome Diocese in 1975, where he stayed for five decades.

Community leaders like Mr Wiggan says the church should have been faster to act when he started to betray their trust.

New bishop joins call

It is a sentiment shared by Bishop Norton, who said the church's abuse of power in the Kimberley was "inexcusable".

"Being in a place that is remote and even forgotten about by a lot of Australia ... that has been allowed to go on for too long," he said.

"There aren't really words we have to describe the levels of hurt and pain people are suffering."

Despite being found guilty, no action has been taken by the Catholic Church to defrock Saunders, meaning he has kept his honorary titles and the benefits of a retirement package negotiated in 2021.

A lasting impact

Human rights advocate and Noongar woman Dr Hannah McGlade said the six-year sentence was a positive outcome, but the church still needed to take responsibility for the harm inflicted.

The Curtin University Associate Professor said the lasting impacts of institutional abuse continued to impact men, women and children today.

"It's well known that for Aboriginal men, the stigma is particularly severe and it's not safe to talk about sexual abuse,"

Dr McGlade said.

"Without proper healing and intervention, the cycles have unfortunately sometimes continued with men who were once victims becoming perpetrators."

The Kimberley region has some of the highest rates of suicide and self-harm in Australia, and the highest rates of family violence in the state.

Hope for the future

Back in Broome, Bishop Norton said the deep and lasting nature of the case was "tremendous" but he was committed to moving forward with the community.

"What I have learned here is people in the Kimberley are certainly bruised and hurt by this whole event, but the resilience I've encountered here is extraordinary," he said.

The church will hold healing and reconciliation sessions in Broome open to everyone in the community, not just members of the church.

Albert Wiggan said he hoped the court sentence would help to provide more survivors of sexual abuse with the strength to come forward.

"It really does give victims of this kind of abuse hope and an opportunity to get the justice they truly deserve,"

he said.

"I hope there will be more brave people out there and more people who come out and share their story because it needs to happen."