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On May 21, Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the archbishop of Munich and Freising and a top advisor to Pope Francis, submitted his resignation to the pope, saying he wanted to take “institutional responsibility” for the sexual abuse crisis.

“It is important to me to share the responsibility for the catastrophe of the sexual abuse by Church officials over the past decades,” the cardinal wrote in a letter to the pope. Cardinal Marx has never been accused of sexual abuse or cover-up but expressed that he wanted to take responsibility for helping to mold church structures that failed to prevent sexual abuse.

In a decision that came as a surprise to Cardinal Marx, Pope Francis refused to accept the resignation, using the opportunity to tell the world’s bishops to take action on abuse.

The offer of resignation sent shockwaves through Germany and the Vatican. This week on “Inside the Vatican,” host Colleen Dulle and veteran Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell discuss the aftereffects of Cardinal Marx’s offer to resign.

Tune in next week for a special deep dive episode on the German Synodal Way.

Links from the show:

Take Inside the Vatican’s Listener Survey!

Cardinal Marx offers Pope Francis his resignation, citing ‘responsibility for the catastrophe of sexual abuse’

Explainer: Cardinal Marx wasn’t accused of sexual abuse or cover-up. So why has he offered to resign?

Pope Francis rejects Cardinal Marx’s offer of resignation, calls on all bishops to take responsibility for the abuse crisis

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