Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of the bishop of Buffalo, following widespread condemnation over how he handled allegations of clergy sexual misconduct. The Vatican didn’t say why Bishop Richard Malone was resigning two years before the mandatory retirement age of 75. However, the Associated Press reports the Vatican carried out a recent investigation into the western New York diocese and Malone’s handling of abuse cases. The Buffalo diocese has been named in more than 220 lawsuits by people who claim they were sexually abused by priests. Many of those claims date back decades, but victims have accused Malone of more recent errors in his handling of cases. The bishop of Albany, New York, Edward Scharfenberger, will run the Buffalo diocese temporarily until a permanent successor is found.
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