TRIP TO THE VATICAN

Cardinal Wuerl to Meet With Pope Francis About Resignation After PA Grand Jury Report

Wuerl said a decision on his end was “essential... so that this archdiocesan Church we all love can move forward.”

Cardinal Donald Wuerl, the former bishop of Pittsburgh and current Washington archbishop, will “discuss with Pope Francis the possibility of stepping down as leader of Washington’s Catholic Church” amid mounting pressure for him to step down in the wake of a Philadelphia grand jury report about “predator priests.” The Washington Post reports that in Wuerl’s letter to the Archdiocese of Washington priests on Tuesday, he did not say if he would “ask Francis to accept his resignation” but said he would be discussing his resignation with the leader of the church. Wuerl visited the Vatican after the grand jury report—accusing more than 300 priests of abusing more than 1,000 children throughout decades—was released, and the pope reportedly told him at the time to “consult his priests about what he should do.” Wuerl supposedly did so at an annual Labor Day picnic but has not yet resigned from his position. “It was clear that some decision, sooner rather than later, on my part is an essential aspect so that this archdiocesan Church we all love can move forward,” he wrote. “As fruit of our discernment I intend, in the very near future, to go to Rome to meet with our Holy Father[.]” The Post notes that while Wuerl can ask step down from his position, Pope Francis is the only one that can accept his resignation. In the wake of the grand jury report, which alleged that Wuerl reassigned priests who were accused of abuse, his name was defaced and stripped off a local Catholic school.