Vatican spokesperson and his deputy resign ahead of key summit on sexual abuse crisis

The top spokesperson for the Vatican has unexpectedly announced his resignation.

Greg Burke said on Twitter Monday that he will resign as the spokesperson for the Vatican effective Jan. 1, as will his deputy, Paloma Garcia Ovejero. "At this time of transition in Vatican communications, we think it’s best the Holy Father is completely free to assemble a new team," he wrote.

This comes after a previous shake-up of the Vatican communications staff, which came when Pope Francis named a new editor of the Vatican newspaper and a new editorial director for Vatican media, The Associated Press reports, adding that the resignations "clearly took the new team by surprise." The Vatican's communications head said this was their "autonomous and free choice," per CNN.

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The Vatican will hold a crucial summit in February to discuss sexual abuse within the Catholic Church. In August, a grand jury report said that more than 300 priests in Pennsylvania had been accused of sexually abusing children, prompting other states to launch their own investigations into the church, per CNN. Numerous church officials were removed from their positions amid accusations they committed or helped cover up abuse, and the Vatican has faced criticism for its handling of the crisis. One former diplomat called for Pope Francis to resign after he was accused of helping cover up sexual abuse accusations against former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick.

The church's key global summit will take place on Feb. 21.