Brian Houston case deferred until 2022

Brian Houston denies concealing information about his father's abuse. (Photo: Hillsong)

The court case in Sydney against Hillsong senior pastor Brian Houston has been delayed until next year.

Australian website Eternity News reports that a local court deferred his case until 27 January 2022 when the date of his full trial is due to be announced.

Houston has pleaded not guilty via his lawyer.

New South Wales police charged Houston in August with concealing information about sexual abuse committed by his father in the 1970s.

The charge followed a two-year police investigation.

The elder Houston abused a number of children in his native New Zealand, but the case before the court concerns the abuse of Australian survivor Brian Sengstock as a young boy.

In a statement in July, Brian Houston insisted that he did not find out about his father's abuse until 30 years after the event and that he was honouring the victim's "multiple requests not to inform the police".

"The law at the time granted an exception to reporting a crime of this nature when a person had a reasonable excuse not to report," Houston claimed.

"This state law has since further clarified that this type of situation - when an adult victim of child abuse explicitly does not want the matter reported - qualified as a reasonable excuse under the law."

News
Almost half of UK adults plan to attend church this Christmas, new poll finds
Almost half of UK adults plan to attend church this Christmas, new poll finds

Churches across the UK are expecting fuller pews this Christmas, as new research suggests a significant rise in the number of people planning to attend services and church-run events over the festive season.

ACNA panel recommends archbishop stand trial
ACNA panel recommends archbishop stand trial

The Board of Inquiry issued a short statement on Friday stating that there was “probable cause to present” ACNA Archbishop Steve Wood “for trial for violation of Canon 2 of this Title.”

Controversial US bishop to give BBC Christmas message
Controversial US bishop to give BBC Christmas message

The BBC has invited Bishop Mariann Budde, the US bishop who challenged President Donald Trump at an inauguration service in January, to give a Christmas message.

Australian church leaders stand in solidarity with Jewish community after Bondi Beach terrorist attack
Australian church leaders stand in solidarity with Jewish community after Bondi Beach terrorist attack

Christian leaders in Australia have expressed their solidarity with the country's grief-stricken Jewish community after a deadly terrorist attack on Bondi Beach in Sydney on Sunday night.