Australian scandal hits church and hits state

But what fueled the most recent controversy was his claim last week during a televised interview that a case involving a 14-year-old girl and a 30-year-old priest did not constitute abuse.

"My belief is that this was not sex abuse," Hollingworth said. "There was no suggestion of rape or anything like that. Quite the contrary, my information is that it was, rather, the other way around."

The governor general has since apologized for the comment. He claims he misheard the question although a transcript of the interview casts doubts on that claim.

But since then, politicians and pundits on all sides have lined up to call for Hollingworth's resignation, and everywhere from the backyard barbecue to the AM bands of talk radio the governor general has been taking a bashing.

If Hollingworth were a simple politician that might not be a problem: He could be voted out at the next election.

However, the role of governor general is considered beyond politics in Australia, and that's one reason why this case is particularly complicated. Technically, the governor general is the commander in chief of the military and, as the Queen's representative, has the power to dissolve Parliament, approve laws, and fire governments.

In the past, when Australia had closer ties to Britain, that power meant something, and it wasn't until 1930 that an Australian was named to the role.

But according to Sarah Joseph, a constitutional-law expert at Monash University, in recent decades that power has diminished considerably. In real terms now, the governor general has no more political power than the Queen does in Britain. He is a rubber stamp for the government of the day whose primary duties are ceremonial.

"To be brutally honest, a lot of people don't think about the governor general," Ms. Joseph said. "But the office of governor general is not supposed to be divisive. It is supposed to be one of universal respect."

And by expressing views on child abuse at odds with those in the wider community, experts like Joseph say Hollingworth has undermined the people's trust for a role one former prime minister likened to being the conscience of the nation.

There are also questions about his ability to be apolitical. The opposition Australian Labor Party, for example, has called for his resignation.

Polls show it hasn't had much effect on people's attitudes toward the Queen or Australia becoming a republic independent of the British monarchy. But according to John Warhurst, professor of politics at Australian National University, Hollingworth has also made life uncomfortable for the prime minister, who after his reelection to a third and probably final term is now managing his legacy.

"John Howard's personal concern is probably his place in history at the moment and wanting to have as few strikes as possible against him," Mr. Warhurst says. "This could eventually be seen as one of his weaker moments."

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