Pope Francis accepted the resignation of a New York City bishop who was accused of sexually abusing a teenage boy in the 1980s, the Vatican said Thursday.
Auxiliary Bishop John Jenik denied the allegation when it was first brought to the New York City archdiocese last year. He nevertheless stopped public ministry and moved out of his Bronx parish.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan said the archdiocese's lay review board had found the allegation to be "credible and substantiated," and he turned the case over to the Holy See for further investigation, since only the pope can decide a bishop's fate.
Pope Francis waves during his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2019. (Fabio FrustcaiANSA via AP)
Jenik turned 75 in March, the normal retirement age for bishops. As a result, it wasn't immediately clear if Vatican made any determination about the abuse allegation.
For decades, the Vatican turned a blind eye to bishops and cardinals who raped and molested children and adults or covered up the crimes.
It was Dolan's archdiocese that received complaints about sexual misconduct by ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, cases that launched a new reckoning in the U.S. Catholic Church hierarchy.
Pope Francis takes shelter from the sun as he sits in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican during his weekly general audience, Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2019. (AP PhotoAlessandra Tarantino)