• December 18, 2019

Pope Francis Accepts Resignation Of Archbishop Accused Of Sexual Assault

Vatican City Dec 18: Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Archbishop Luigi Ventura, the Holy See’s ambassador to France, who has been accused of sexual harassment, the Vatican said on Tuesday.

Ventura last week turned 75, the age at which all bishops are obliged to hand in their resignations to the pope. Francis sometimes accepts them quickly, as in Ventura’s case, and sometimes keeps people in their jobs longer.

The Vatican said on Wednesday that Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop Richard J. Malone of Buffalo, New York, who has been at the center of a sex abuse crisis in his diocese. Jillian Kitchener has more.

French authorities opened an investigation into Ventura in January after a junior official at Paris City Hall accused him of sexual harassment.

The Vatican lifted Ventura’s diplomatic immunity in July so he could be questioned by prosecutors. Ventura has not commented on the allegations.