An Australian archbishop on Tuesday became the first most senior Roman Catholic cleric in the world to be convicted for covering up child sex abuse.

Magistrate Robert Stone handed down the verdict against Archbishop of Adelaide, Philip Wilson in Newcastle Local Court, north of Sydney, following a magistrate-only trial. Wilson faces a potential two years in prison when he is sentenced next month.

The 67-year-old Wilson had pleaded not guilty to concealing a serious crime committed by another person – the sexual abuse of children by pedophile priest, James Fletcher in the 1970s.

Stone told the court that Wilson had concealed the abuse of two altar boys in the Hunter Valley region, north of Sydney, by Fletcher by failing to report the allegations to the police, adding that he was satisfied with one of the altar boys, Peter Creigh whom he said had been a ‘truthful and reliable’ witness.

However, in a statement issued by the Catholic Church on Tuesday, Wilson, who was released on bail until when he appears at a sentencing hearing on June 9 said he was disappointed by the conviction.

“I will now have to consider the reasons and consult closely with my lawyers to determine the next steps,” Wilson added.

Prosecutor, Gareth Harrison had submitted that Wilson was involved in the cover-up of the crime to protect the reputation of the church over the state of the victims, stressing that there were doubts about his honesty.

Wilson, who is suffering from the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease told the court last month during his trial that he could not remember Creigh and another altar boy telling him in 1976 that they were being abused by Fletcher.

The prosecution argued that Wilson failed to give details to police about a serious crime after Fletcher was arrested in 2004 and went on trial for preying on another boy.

Fletcher was consequently found guilty of nine counts of child sexual abuse and died in prison of a stroke in 2006 while serving an almost eight-year sentence.

Defence lawyers had argued that Wilson could not be found guilty because the case was circumstantial and there was no evidence to prove that the archbishop was told about the abuse, believed it was true, or remembered being told about it.

Defence lawyer, Stephen Odgers urged the court to take into account that in the 1970s, a priest having sex with a boy was not considered a serious indictable offence, the legal basis for the concealment charge against Wilson.

Odgers told the court that the said sexual abuse would have been viewed as an act of indecency, not indecent assault if the victim could not prove he had been forced to perform sex acts.

Testifying with a look of horror on his face, Creigh had told the court he had trusted that Wilson, then an assistant priest, would take action after he told him Fletcher had repeatedly abused him in 1971 when he was 10.

Although the defence team did not challenge Creigh’s truthfulness in his testimony, they however raised concerns about the reliability of his memory of what happened in 1976.