German bishops' leader announces surprise resignation (CNA)

In a surprise move, the vice-president of the German bishops’ conference has resigned, just weeks after saying that he planned to remain in office despite criticism of his handling of sex-abuse complaints.

The Vatican announced the resignation of Bishop Franz-Josef Bode of Osnabrück on March 25, the same day that Pope Francis released revised norms for the handling of abuse complaints. [See today’s separate CWN news analysis.] In announcing his resignation, he said: ““I misjudged cases, often acted hesitantly, made many wrong decisions, and failed to live up to my responsibility as a bishop.”

Bishop Bode, who at 72 was three years away from normal retirement, has been a leading champion of the German bishops’ Synodal Path. He had recently announced that the German bishops would move forward with the recommendations of the Synodal Path despite Vatican opposition.