Anne Barrett Doyle

Alongside positive responses from church officials, reaction from groups that support survivors varied, with some harshly criticizing the decision and others saying the cardinal's case still represents progress.

Vatican City: Jesuit Fr. Federico Lombardi, who served as moderator of the Feb. 21-24 summit, said Pope Francis will soon publish a new set of laws and guidelines concerning child protection for Vatican City State.

Vatican City: Pope Francis ended his landmark summit with 190 Catholic bishops on clergy sexual abuse Feb. 24 with a promise the church will "decisively confront" the abuse of minors, but also warned that the global institution must avoid "ideological disputes and journalistic practices" that he said exploit the scandals.

Vatican City:  Vatican officials Feb. 18 declined to comment on the case of a priest working at the Catholic Church's highest court who has been listed by his home diocese as credibly accused of abuse.

As the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops opened a Day of Prayer at the Fall Bishops General Assembly Nov. 12, John McKeon was the first to walk a path along Aliceanna Street outside the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront.

Among those that have followed the decadeslong clergy sex abuse crisis, some speculate that we may be entering a new phase, where authorities display less hesitancy in holding church leaders to account.

Survivors of clergy abuse and their advocates praised Pope Francis for his confrontation with Chile's bishops over their handling of abuse cases, which led to a mass resignation today, and the survivors and advocates urged the pope not to allow the momentum for reform to slow.

Distinctly Catholic: A cardinal will be facing a secular jury without a peep of protest from the Vatican. At long last, they realize there are things more important than independence.