VATICAN CITY
AFP
Vatican City — Pope Francis on Tuesday accepted the resignation of an Irish bishop who admitted to sheltering a priest accused of child abuse, although the cleric said he was stepping down because of poor health.
William Lee, the bishop of the diocese of Waterford and Lismore, issued his own statement saying he had resigned on health grounds, making no mention of the abuse allegations.
The Holy See said in a brief statement that Lee was relieved of his functions under paragraph 2 of article 401 of the Code of Canon Law, which covers both serious offenses such as paedophilia and corruption, and resignations on health grounds.
The Irish bishop publicly apologised in 2010 after admitting that his response to child abuse allegations in the mid-1990s was “seriously inadequate”.
Faced with multiple claims of abuse by a priest in his diocese, Lee transferred him to another ministry, and waited two years before notifying the police, according to reports at the time.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.