Pope rejects German cardinal’s resignation, urges reform

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis has refused to accept the resignation of German Cardinal Reinhard Marx over the sex abuse scandal in the church. In a letter, Francis said a process of reform was necessary instead and that every bishop must take responsibility for the “catastrophe” of the crisis. Francis wrote a letter to Marx in response to the German’s bombshell announcement last week that he had offered to resign as archbishop of Munich and Freising over the church’s mishandling of abuse cases. Francis refused to accept the resignation and told Marx in the letter he must continue as archbishop.