Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Cardinal Donald Wuerl, the archbishop of Washington, D.C., who has been accused of covering up sexual abuse scandals during his tenure as the bishop of Pittsburgh.
Victims of sexual assault and others have long called for Wuerl to resign — and those calls recently grew louder, after a grand jury produced an exhaustive and shocking report that described the crimes of 300 “predator priests” in Pennsylvania, some of whom were under Wuerl’s supervision.
On Friday, Wuerl said his exit would allow the church “to focus on healing and the future. It permits this local Church to move forward.” He added, “Once again, for any past errors in judgment, I apologize and ask for pardon.”
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