MELBOURNE, May 11: Australia’s titular head of state has temporarily given up office while rape claims he firmly denies are resolved, but his long-term future is uncertain, Prime Minister John Howard said on Sunday.

Governor-General Peter Hollingworth, the British queen’s envoy to Australia and a former Anglican archbishop, stunned Australia three days ago when he issued a public denial that he raped a girl at a church camp 40 years ago.

The bombshell came as Hollingworth already faced pressure to resign after a church inquiry found he allowed a paedophile to remain a priest in the 1990s when he was an archbishop.

“It has been agreed between the governor-general and myself that Dr Hollingworth will stand aside from his position as governor-general, pending the determination of the court proceedings,” Howard told a news conference.

“It is only when the proceedings started by the late Ms Jarmyn have been resolved that proper consideration can be given by the governor-general to his longer-term tenure of the office.”

It is the first time in the 102-year history of the vice-regal office that a governor-general has stepped aside.

In London, a spokeswoman for Queen Elizabeth said Buckingham Palace was leaving Howard to deal with the issue. “It’s a matter for the Australian prime minister,” she said.

But Australian opposition politicians and child welfare groups continued to call for Hollingworth’s resignation, saying it was not enough to step aside since he had also mishandled child sex abuse cases when he was an archbishop.—Reuters