Pope John Paul II yesterday accepted the resignation of the Archbishop of Milwaukee, involved in the latest sex scandal to hit the Catholic Church in the US, the Vatican said.
THE US: Archbishop Rembert Weakland (75), who tendered his resignation on April 2nd, on Thursday asked Rome to replace him swiftly to save the church any further embarrassment.
His resignation was acknowledged in a one-line statement in the Vatican's daily bulletin.
The prelate's move followed allegations he sexually harassed an aspiring priest 20 years ago.
"I have never abused anyone," the archbishop said in a statement on Thursday, but "given the climate in today's world where the church must regain its credibility, this situation would be an added and continuing distraction from that goal.
"I do not want to be an obstacle to that search on the part of the church, which I will continue to love with all my heart," he wrote.
His remarks came just hours after a US television network aired an interview with his accuser, Mr Paul Marcoux (53), a former theology student. The prelate said he had asked Rome to "accelerate," the process of finding a replacement for him.