Pastor Brian Houston, the lead pastor of the global multisite Hillsong Church who was charged last month with allegedly concealing sex abuse committed by his father decades earlier, has said he is stepping down from his role on various church boards so that they can continue to “function to their fullest capacity.”

“I … wanted to let you know that I’ve made a decision to step aside from my role on the Hillsong Church boards that oversee the governance of our operations,” Houston, the senior pastor of the Australia-based congregation, wrote in an email, according to The Roys Report.

“I did this so that these boards can function to their fullest capacity during this season. This doesn’t change my role as Global Senior Pastor. I thought it was important to let our church family know in the interests of transparency, and I wanted you to hear it from me directly,” added the 67-year-old leader of the Sydney-based megachurch.

Police officials announced last month that Houston was being charged with “concealing child sex offenses,” The Associated Press reported at the time. “Police will allege in court [that Houston] knew information relating to the sexual abuse of a young male in the 1970s and failed to bring that information to the attention of police,” stated Australian authorities, as quoted by the AP. READ MORE