Catholic bishop resigns in New York

Pope Francis on Wednesday accepted the resignation of Bishop Richard Malone, whose diocese in Buffalo, N.Y., faces more than 220 lawsuits filed by people claiming priests sexually abused them. The Vatican named Bishop Edward Scharfenberger of Albany, N.Y., to head the diocese temporarily.

Why did Malone resign now? He faced widespread criticism from his staff, priests, and the public over how he handled allegations of clergy misconduct. Malone offered to step down two years before the mandatory retirement age of 75 after learning the results of a Vatican-mandated inquiry into abuse cases in his diocese. The Vatican has not released the results of the inquiry.

Dig deeper: Read Kiley Crossland’s Relations report on how Catholics responded to revelations of abuse in the Philadelphia diocese.