Lawyers for Father Peter Lewis Comensoli raised concerns about their client’s “mental fitness” in Wollongong District Court on Tuesday ahead of his scheduled trial date in May.

Defence solicitor Greg Walsh said Comensoli was set to be assessed by a neuropsychologist and a psychiatrist, who would prepare reports for the court.

Prosecutors indicated they would also have Comensoli assessed by their own experts.

Judge Paul Conlon agreed to use the court time originally set aside for Comensoli’s trial to hold a hearing into his mental fitness.

Comensoli is accused of molesting the teenage boys in separate incidents at Barrack Heights and Ingleburn while he was a serving priest in the Catholic Church.

Police allege Comensoli molested one of the alleged victims multiple times in 1966 while visiting the boy’s family.

The man reported the alleged assaults to the church in 1999, however the information was not passed on to police until January 2014.

Comensoli second alleged victim was a teen who attended the Shellharbour parish in 1968.

He too didn’t report the alleged assaults to police until recently.

Comensoli was charged in early 2014. He continues to maintain his innocence.

Meantime, Mr Walsh said if the trial proceeded, he would apply to have the case heard by a jury in Sydney, rather than Wollongong, claiming publicity surrounding the preliminary court appearances could affect Comensoli’s right to a fair trial.