Vatican City, Vatican.- Pope Francis announced on Monday that he had accepted the resignation of the cardinal responsible for the fight against paedophilia in the Catholic Church, the American Sean O’Malley, who has reached the age limit of 80 years.
“The Holy Father has accepted the resignation from the pastoral government of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Boston (northeastern United States), presented by His Eminence Cardinal Sean Patrick O’Malley,” the Vatican said in a statement.
Francis has appointed Richard G. Henning, 59, the bishop of Providence in the northeastern United States, as archbishop.
The age limit for bishops and members of the Roman Curia is officially set at 75, but the pope relaxed this rule in 2018. However, cardinals who reach the age of 80 are no longer electors in the conclave.
Sean O’Malley stood out for his handling of multiple scandals involving sexual abuse committed by religious leaders against minors by the Catholic Church, but also for his constant defense of migrants, in line with Pope Francis.
In 2003, he replaced Cardinal Bernard Law in Boston, who had resigned following the huge scandal caused by the disastrous handling of child sexual abuse in that American city and its region. This case, known as “Spotlight”, gave rise to the 2015 film of the same name.
O’Malley negotiated a $90 million settlement for more than 500 victims. To do so, he sold the archdiocese’s headquarters and eliminated 65 of the 357 parishes in his diocese.
Named cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI during the consistory of 24 March 2006, he was appointed in 2014 to the new pontifical commission for the protection of minors, the Vatican body created to combat paedophilia.
The commission was, however, heavily criticised. Its most influential member, Hans Zollner, who resigned in March 2023, accused it of suffering from structural and transparency problems.
Cardinal O’Malley defended himself by saying that at the time of its creation there were “unrealistic expectations about what this group of volunteers would be able to achieve”.
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