Former Australian bishop Christopher Saunders has been sentenced to six and a half years in prison for sexually abusing two young Aboriginal men during his tenure as a Catholic cleric. The 76-year-old, who resigned as Bishop of Broome in 2020 when the accusations first surfaced, was found guilty in August of one charge of rape and 12 counts of indecent assault. He will be eligible for parole in February 2031, presumably after ample time to reflect on his life choices - or, more likely, to perfect his prison chess game.

Saunders is one of the most senior Catholic leaders in the world to face sex abuse charges, a distinction that says far more about the institution than it does about him. His trial in Western Australia heard how he systematically groomed the two young men, inviting them to "shirts-off" gatherings and plying them with alcohol - often using church funds and church-owned properties, because if you're going to commit heinous acts, you might as well bill it to the diocese. He was convicted of kissing and molesting the men, and in one instance forcing oral sex on one of them between 2010 and 2019.

Several child sex abuse charges were dropped before his trial, and Saunders was acquitted by the jury of alleged offences against a third young man. In a victim impact statement provided to the court, that young man said he struggled to talk about what had happened. "I was a toy that he was using," the victim said. "My head is pounding now, I'm in so much pain." The kind of pain that no amount of prayer or institutional cover-up can soothe.

First ordained in 1976, Saunders spent most of his career in the remote Kimberley region in the nation's north-west corner, and was appointed Bishop of Broome in 1996. The diocese stretches about 770,000 sq km (297,000 sq miles) - an area roughly the size of Turkey - and encompasses some of the most remote parts of the country. Remote enough, one might think, to escape scrutiny. But the accusations were first aired in 2020, and while the initial police investigation was closed without charge, a historic inquiry ordered by the Pope prompted a new investigation.

Only a handful of "Vos Estis Lux Mundi" - meaning "You Are the Light of the World" in Latin - inquiries have been undertaken around the world. Vos Estis investigations are commissioned by the pontiff and were introduced in 2019 to combat sexual abuse and hold bishops and other high-ranking Catholic Church officials accountable for their actions. Because nothing says "let there be light" like a belated, papal-mandated probe into the darkest corners of the church.