Cardinal Barbarin Says Quitting As Archbishop Of Lyon After Sex Abuse Cover-Up Conviction

Cardinal Philippe Barbarin said Tuesday he would step down as the Archbishop of Lyon as the Pope refused to accept his resignation tendered after the court found Barbarin guilty of covering up sexual abuse by a priest

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th March, 2019) Cardinal Philippe Barbarin said Tuesday he would step down as the Archbishop of Lyon as the Pope refused to accept his resignation tendered after the court found Barbarin guilty of covering up sexual abuse by a priest.

"On Monday morning, I put my mission at the hands of the Holy Father. He did not want to accept this resignation, invoking presumption of innocence ... At his suggestion and because the Church of Lyon has been suffering for three years now, I have decided to retire for a while," Barbarin said in a statement.

Earlier in March, the cardinal was found guilty of covering up sexual crimes after he failed to report abuse allegations to the authorities. Barbarin is planning to appeal the verdict.

The crimes were allegedly committed by priest Bernard Preynat in the 1980s and 1990s. Barbarin reportedly told the court that he learned about the abuse in 2014, although he had heard some rumors before that. The cardinal dismissed Preynat but did not go to the police.