Buffalo bishop resigns under fire for handling of misconduct

NEW YORK — Bishop Richard Malone of Buffalo resigned Wednesday, forced to step aside amid mounting calls for his ouster from his staff, priests and public over his handling of allegations of clergy sexual misconduct. The Vatican said Pope Francis accepted the resignation and appointed Edward Scharfenberger, the bishop of Albany, New York, to run the Buffalo Diocese until a permanent replacement is found. In a statement, Malone said he had come to believe “that the spiritual welfare of the people of the Diocese of Buffalo will be better served by a new bishop who perhaps is better able to bring about the reconciliation, healing and renewal that is so needed.” Scharfenberger told a news conference in Buffalo that he wants to be seen as a healer willing to listen and to develop trust. The group, the Movement to Restore Trust, said it received word of Malone’s departure “with a mixture of sadness and relief.” “There is much work to be done to move our church toward this new day when sexual abuse and misconduct is unthinkable, when victims of sexual abuse achieve a measure of justice and healing from the Church that has wronged them, and when the laity are welcomed as equal participants with the clergy in the task of rebuilding the diocese,” it said.