Pope Francis Accepts Resignation of D.C. Archbishop Wuerl, Amid Criticism of the Cardinal’s Handling of Abuse Claims

The Washington Post‘s Michelle Boorstein, Chico Harlan, and Julie Zauzmer report that Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Washington’s archbishop, Cardinal Donald Wuerl, on Friday. They write, “In his letter, Francis suggested he had accepted Wuerl’s resignation reluctantly, and said he saw in the cardinal’s request the ‘heart of a shepherd.’ Francis did not criticize Wuerl’s handling of abuse cases, and wrote that Wuerl had ‘sufficient elements’ to defend his actions.” Jack Devlin, a Catholic school teacher who organized protests over Wuerl, said, “The way Pope Francis worded it, it was how you’d word somebody making a little mistake. This is not a little mistake.”

Read at The Washington Post

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