Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of French Cardinal Philippe Barbarin who had been caught up in a sex abuse case, the archbishop of Reims said in a statement.

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A French appeals court overturned in January an earlier ruling against Barbarin, in which he was convicted last year of failing to report sexual abuse charges.

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Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of French Cardinal Philippe Barbarin who had been caught up in a sex abuse case, the archbishop of Reims said in a statement.

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of French Cardinal Philippe Barbarin who had been caught up in a sex abuse case, the archbishop of Reims said in a statement. Also read: Pope tests negative for coronavirus, Italy report says A French appeals court overturned in January an earlier ruling against Barbarin, in which he was convicted last year of failing to report sexual abuse charges. Also see: Pope Francis cancels planned retreat due to 'cold'

Pope accepts resignation of cardinal Barbarin amid sex abuse case

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/pope-francis-urges-predator-priests-who-sexually-abused-minors-to-turn-themselves-in-185719">Pope Francis vowed justice for victims </a>of clerical sex abuse Monday, describing paedophilia as one of the "vilest" crimes ahead of a historic global meet on the crisis roiling the church.

"I cannot refrain from speaking of one of the plagues of our time, which sadly has also involved some members of the clergy," he said in his annual address to ambassadors to the Holy See.

"The abuse of minors is one of the vilest and most heinous crimes conceivable. Such abuse inexorably sweeps away the best of what human life holds out for innocent children, and causes irreparable and lifelong damage," he said.

Francis swore to "render justice to minors", and said a meeting of the world's bishops in February was "meant to be a further step in the church’s efforts to shed full light on the facts and to alleviate the wounds caused by such crimes".

A litany of child sexual abuse scandals has rocked the Catholic church, which has 1.3 billion followers around the world.

In December the pontiff had vowed the church would never again treat abuse allegations without "seriousness and promptness", calling on abusers to hand themselves in to police.

The Argentine has struggled to resolve the problem as the steady drip of scandal corrodes the church's authority amid sharp divisions in Rome over how to handle the fallout and an apparently endless stream of bad news.

In the latest case to shake the Catholic church, the highest-profile Catholic cleric to be caught up in a paedophile scandal in France went on trial on Monday charged with failing to report a priest who abused boy scouts in the 1980s and 90s.

Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, the archbishop of Lyon, in central eastern France, is accused along with five others from his diocese of helping cover up abuse in one of the parishes in the area.

On Friday the Vatican confirmed that an Argentinian bishop who has held a senior position at the Holy See since 2017, is under preliminary investigation over sex abuse claims.

'I cannot refrain from speaking of one of the plagues of our time, which sadly has also involved some members of the clergy,' Pope Francis said.

Pope Francis vowed justice for victims of clerical sex abuse Monday, describing paedophilia as one of the "vilest" crimes ahead of a historic global meet on the crisis roiling the church. "I cannot refrain from speaking of one of the plagues of our time, which sadly has also involved some members of the clergy," he said in his annual address to ambassadors to the Holy See. "The abuse of minors is one of the vilest and most heinous crimes conceivable. Such abuse inexorably sweeps away the best of what human life holds out for innocent children, and causes irreparable and lifelong damage," he said. Francis swore to "render justice to minors", and said a meeting of the world's bishops in February was "meant to be a further step in the church’s efforts to shed full light on the facts and to alleviate the wounds caused by such crimes". A litany of child sexual abuse scandals has rocked the Catholic church, which has 1.3 billion followers around the world. In December the pontiff had vowed the church would never again treat abuse allegations without "seriousness and promptness", calling on abusers to hand themselves in to police. The Argentine has struggled to resolve the problem as the steady drip of scandal corrodes the church's authority amid sharp divisions in Rome over how to handle the fallout and an apparently endless stream of bad news. In the latest case to shake the Catholic church, the highest-profile Catholic cleric to be caught up in a paedophile scandal in France went on trial on Monday charged with failing to report a priest who abused boy scouts in the 1980s and 90s. Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, the archbishop of Lyon, in central eastern France, is accused along with five others from his diocese of helping cover up abuse in one of the parishes in the area. On Friday the Vatican confirmed that an Argentinian bishop who has held a senior position at the Holy See since 2017, is under preliminary investigation over sex abuse claims.

Pope vows justice for victims of 'vile' sex abuse

French police questioned the Roman Catholic cardinal-archbishop of Lyon today in an investigation into the activities of a paedophile priest in the early 1990s and why they were not reported to the civil authorities. 
 
Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, 65, who has denied covering up the activities of Father Bernard Preynat, was questioned as a witness by officers of the child and family protection brigade at a police station in the central city, his lawyer said. 
 
&quot;Like any witness, he is being asked what he knew,&quot; lawyer Andre Soulier said, adding that the questioning &quot;will not be followed by any obligation to appear in court, any opening of a judicial investigation or any indictment&quot;. 
 
Several victims of alleged paedophile abuse have filed complaints against the prelate, who holds the honorific title of Primate of the Gauls, for failing to report the incidents to the justice authorities and leaving the accused priest in place. 
 
Preynat was placed under judicial investigation in January for alleged sexual abuse of Catholic boy scouts in 1991 and released on bail. His lawyer said he had admitted the facts of &quot;sexual abuse on minors under 15 years old by a person in a position of authority&quot; to an investigating magistrate. 
 
While Barbarin has denied any wrongdoing, he acknowledged &quot;errors in the management and appointment of some priests&quot; in a statement issued in April. 
 
Barbarin had a private audience with Pope Francis in Rome last month and the pontiff said afterwards in an interview with the Catholic newspaper La Croix that it would make no sense for the cardinal to resign. 
 
&quot;We will see after the trial is over. But now, it would be declaring oneself guilty,&quot; the pope said. 
 
&quot;According to the information at my disposal, Cardinal Barbarin took the appropriate measures, he took things in hand. He is brave, creative, a missionary,&quot; Francis was quoted as saying, adding: &quot;We must wait now to see where the civil legal procedures leads.&quot; 
 
A papal decree issued on Sunday said bishops found &quot;negligent&quot; when dealing with cases of sexual abuse will be investigated and could be removed from office. The order backed up his declaration of &quot;zero tolerance&quot; for anyone in the church who absuses children.

Cardinal Philippe Barbarin denied covering up the activities of Father Bernard Preynat who allegedly sexually abused Catholic boy scouts in 1991

French police questioned the Roman Catholic cardinal-archbishop of Lyon today in an investigation into the activities of a paedophile priest in the early 1990s and why they were not reported to the civil authorities. Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, 65, who has denied covering up the activities of Father Bernard Preynat, was questioned as a witness by officers of the child and family protection brigade at a police station in the central city, his lawyer said. "Like any witness, he is being asked what he knew," lawyer Andre Soulier said, adding that the questioning "will not be followed by any obligation to appear in court, any opening of a judicial investigation or any indictment". Several victims of alleged paedophile abuse have filed complaints against the prelate, who holds the honorific title of Primate of the Gauls, for failing to report the incidents to the justice authorities and leaving the accused priest in place. Preynat was placed under judicial investigation in January for alleged sexual abuse of Catholic boy scouts in 1991 and released on bail. His lawyer said he had admitted the facts of "sexual abuse on minors under 15 years old by a person in a position of authority" to an investigating magistrate. While Barbarin has denied any wrongdoing, he acknowledged "errors in the management and appointment of some priests" in a statement issued in April. Barbarin had a private audience with Pope Francis in Rome last month and the pontiff said afterwards in an interview with the Catholic newspaper La Croix that it would make no sense for the cardinal to resign. "We will see after the trial is over. But now, it would be declaring oneself guilty," the pope said. "According to the information at my disposal, Cardinal Barbarin took the appropriate measures, he took things in hand. He is brave, creative, a missionary," Francis was quoted as saying, adding: "We must wait now to see where the civil legal procedures leads." A papal decree issued on Sunday said bishops found "negligent" when dealing with cases of sexual abuse will be investigated and could be removed from office. The order backed up his declaration of "zero tolerance" for anyone in the church who absuses children.

Police question French cardinal over paedophile priest