The Vatican announced on Wednesday the resignation of the bishop of Buffalo, Richard Malone, amid media reports that he mishandled and attempted to cover up hundreds of abuse cases, a scandal that has shocked the Catholic Church in the United States
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th December, 2019) The Vatican announced on Wednesday the resignation of the bishop of Buffalo, Richard Malone, amid media reports that he mishandled and attempted to cover up hundreds of abuse cases, a scandal that has shocked the Catholic Church in the United States."The Holy Father has accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of Buffalo, United States of America, presented by Bishop Richard J. Malone, and has appointed Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger of Albany as apostolic administrator of the same diocese," the Vatican press release read.
The bishop's resignation comes amid media reports that he was under investigation by the Vatican for his alleged role in mishandling hundreds of abuse claims. The diocese of Buffalo has been named in more than 220 lawsuits by claimants who have alleged that they were sexually abused by priests, the NBC news broadcaster stated.
According to the broadcaster, while many of the claims concern events that predate Malone's appointment to the Buffalo diocese in 2012, a number of actions had raised concerns among officials of his suitability for the post. Malone was alleged to have omitted dozens of Names from a published list of priests accused of abuse.
The Vatican conducted an investigation into Malone's practices, headed by Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio, the report stated.
The scandal around widespread sexual abuses and pedophilia in the Catholic Church in the US erupted in 2002 when the Boston Globe newspaper published results of an investigation into such practice in the local Catholic community. After that it turned out that the problem existed in Catholic communities around the world. Pope Francis intensified efforts on rooting out the issue since he headed the Catholic Church in 2013.
