Cardinal Wuerl to Discuss Resignation With Pope Francis

Cardinal Donald Wuerl, the embattled archbishop of Washington, will ask Pope Francis to accept his resignation when he travels to the Vatican in the near future, CNN reported.

In a letter to priests in the diocese, Wuerl acknowledged Catholics' questions about their bishops' ability to lead them to healing amid a massive clerical sex-abuse crisis, the Washington Post reported on Tuesday.

He said the Pope asked him to consider the best course of action "as we face new revelations of the extent of the horror of the clergy abuse of children and the failures in episcopal oversight."

Ed McFadden, a spokesman for the Archdiocese of Washington, said on Wednesday that Wuerl will ask the Pope to accept his resignation, CNN reported. McFadden said he did not know when the meeting would occur.

A contingent of American bishops is meeting on Thursday with the Pope in Rome, but Wuerl is not among them, according to the Vatican.

Wuerl is facing increasing scrutiny both over what he may have known about abuse allegations against his predecessor, former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick in Washington, and how he handled abusive priests while he headed the Diocese of Pittsburgh.

"At issue is how to begin effectively to bring a new level of healing to survivors who have personally suffered so much and to the faithful entrusted to our care who have also been wounded by the shame of these terrible actions and have questions about their bishop's ability to provide the necessary leadership,” Wuerl’s letter stated, CNN reported.

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