https://birminghamdaily.co.uk/tags/lichfielddiocese/Recent content in lichfielddiocese on Birmingham DailyHugo -- gohugo.ioen-usWed, 22 Jul 2026 04:30:00 +0000https://birminghamdaily.co.uk/wolverhampton-school-chaplain-father-eddie-avoids-jail-due-to-terminal-cancer-despite-historic-sex-offences/Wed, 22 Jul 2026 04:30:00 +0000https://birminghamdaily.co.uk/wolverhampton-school-chaplain-father-eddie-avoids-jail-due-to-terminal-cancer-despite-historic-sex-offences/Edward Phillip-Smith, a former Wolverhampton school chaplain known as ‘Father Eddie,’ has avoided imprisonment despite being convicted of historic sexual offences against boys dating back to the 1970s and 1980s. The 76-year-old ex-priest, suffering from terminal cancer with less than two years to live, was instead handed a community order. Phillip-Smith previously worked as a teacher and chaplain at St Peter’s Collegiate School in Wolverhampton. In January 2024, he was sentenced to 32 months in prison at Oxford Crown Court after admitting to two counts of inciting a boy under 14 to commit gross indecency and one count of indecent assault on a boy under 14.