Richard Malone

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop Richard Malone of Buffalo, New York, who for the past year has faced questions about how he has addressed the clergy sexual abuse crisis.

During their two-hour group meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican Nov. 15, the Catholics bishops of the New York region experienced a "free and open discussion of many of the challenges and opportunities our church is facing," Buffalo Bishop Richard Malone said Nov. 18.

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: Reading the tea leaves on the Buffalo apostolic visitation; William Barr's "extraordinary argument";  Weinandy rants about Francis; Debunking claims of paganism at the pope's celebration of the feast of St. Francis.

The Buffalo Diocese has been dogged by woeful succession of reports of coverups of sexual abuse. Now a Polish priest is claiming that when, as a seminarian, he was sexually assaulted by a priest, the bishop threatened to deny him ordination — and to deport him.

Distinctly Catholic: Buffalo Bishop Richard Malone has been embattled since last year when, on "60 Minutes," his former secretary provided documentation that Malone covered up cases of clergy sex abuse, which he has denied.

Bishop Richard Malone of Buffalo said the majority of priests and parishioners in the diocese supported him and he would not resign over his handling of a situation involving two priests' relationship with a seminarian.

Distinctly Catholic: It is shocking that there was apparently no effort to build a consensus among the bishops before they got to Baltimore. It is past time for new leadership at the bishops' conference.

Bishop Richard Malone of Buffalo, New York, has suspended three priests after seminarians complained about lewd comments allegedly made by the clergy at an April 11 party at Saints Peter and Paul Rectory in Hamburg, New York.