Independent Australian Senator Nick Xenophon made good on his threat on Tuesday to name in Parliament the Catholic priest from the Adelaide Archdiocese who allegedly sexually abused an Anglican archbishop during their younger days.

While other newspapers did not publish the name of the clergy from Brighton Parish, The Australian identified the priest pinpointed by Mr Xenophon as Ian Dempsey.

The senator insisted he is duty bound to name the alleged abuser of Traditional Anglican Communion Primate John Hepworth, who claimed he was sexually molested by two priests and a classmate when he was still a Catholic seminarian. Two of them have passed away and one is still active.

Xenophon, who named Mr Dempsey despite the request of the Adelaide Archdiocese not to identify him, stressed as a lawyer he still presumes the innocence of the priest until proven guilty since the charges are still allegations.

Mr Xenophon said naming the alleged abuser was a serious moral dilemma for him because as representative of the people of South Australia he was in a situation where he had privileged information which could be misused to benefit a few.

"The question is do the people that attend this priest's parish have a right to know the serious allegations of sexual assault have been leveled at their priest?" the Herald Sun quoted the senator.

"If my family attended this church and if church leadership had refused to stand this priest down pending a proper investigation would I believe I had a right to know?" Mr Xenophon said.

The senator insisted he did not provide the information to the Senate lightly, but he had to make public the name due to the refusal of the Catholic Church to stand down Mr Dempsey, who the Archdiocese said was not guilty of the accusation.

"The priest concerned has categorically denied the allegations and has been a person of good standing in the archdiocese for a very long time," the Archdiocese said in a statement.

It also explained that besides the claim of innocence by Mr Dempsey, it could not suspend him because of requirements of the Canon Law.

"If the priest had been formally charged, which he has not, his name would be suppressed until proof of guilt had been established, and yet this decades-old matter has not even been the subject of a police report. We now have to consider the implication and potential consequences of Senator Xenophon's statement to parliament," the Archdiocese said.

The sex abuse scandal, which is not new to the Catholic Church since several other priests in other countries have been accused and found guilty of pedophilia or sexual molestation, also hit Adelaide Archdiocese Vicar General David Cappo.

Mr Xenophon question the propriety of the federal government's appointment of Mr Cappo as chairman of the new Mental Health Commission because of his delay in dealing with Mr. Hepworth's complains.

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