On Friday, the Vatican announced that Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Cardinal Donald Wuerl, the Catholic archbishop of Washington, D.C. Wuerl, who previously served as Pittsburgh's bishop, was named by a Pennsylvania grand jury as one of the Catholic officials who covered up clergy sexual abuse of children. He also became embroiled in the scandal centered around his predecessor in Washington, former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick. All bishops submit their resignations to the pope when they turn 75; Wuerl turns 78 in November. The Vatican did not immediately name Wuerl's successor.
Wuerl, once viewed as a reformer on clergy sex abuse, flew to the Vatican in mid-September to discuss his resignation with Francis. The pope's "decision to provide new leadership to the archdiocese can allow all of the faithful, clergy, religious, and lay, to focus on healing and the future," Wuerl wrote in a statement released Friday. "It permits this local church to move forward. Once again for any past errors in judgment I apologize and ask for pardon. My resignation is one way to express my great and abiding love for you the people of the Church of Washington."
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