Hobart's Catholic Archbishop Adrian Doyle says he has alerted bishops in Africa to the release of a serial paedophile, amid concerns the man wants to work with African children. Paul Ronald Goldsmith sexually abused 20 boys in Tasmania's north-west while working as an athletics coach and trainee priest in the 1970s and 1980s.
The 65-year-old has been released on parole after serving four years of his six and a half year jail sentence.
The decision has outraged Goldsmith's victims and the support group Beyond Abuse.
The group is concerned that Goldsmith is planning to travel to Africa to work with children.
But the Parole Board's Andrew McKee says it is not possible for Goldsmith to leave Australia.
"He'll be under the close supervision of a probation officer," Mr McKee said.
In a statement, Hobart's Archbishop Adrian Doyle said he had spoken to bishops in Africa about the concerns, and Goldsmith would not receive any support from the church.
SIC: ABCN