Pope Orders Inquiry Into Bishop as US Church Leaders Discuss Abuse Crisis

Pope Francis meets U.S. Catholic Church leaders Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, Archbishop of Galveston-Houston, Archbishop of Los Angeles JosŽ Horacio G—mez, Cardinal Sean Patrick OÕMalley, Archbishop of Boston, and Monsignor Brian Bransfield, General Secretary of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, during a private audience at the Vatican, Sept. 13, 2018. Vatican Media/Reuters

VATICAN CITY—Pope Francis has ordered an investigation of an American bishop accused of sexual misconduct with adults and accepted his resignation, deepening a worldwide clerical abuse scandal.

The Vatican and U.S. Church officials announced the investigation on Sept. 13 as the pope was meeting U.S. Catholic Church leaders to discuss a scandal that has shaken his papacy.