Philadelphia Archbishop Demands Pope Cancel Youth Conference

The archbishop of Philadelphia has asked Pope Francis to cancel an upcoming youth conference in the city because he says bishops have “no credibility” in the wake of a grand-jury report on decades of clergy sexual abuse. Archbishop Charles Chaput made the request to the pontiff in a letter, according to a spokesman for the archdiocese cited by The Philadelphia Inquirer on Saturday. Chaput earlier told a news conference he’d sought to cancel The Youth Synod, an event to focus on young people and feature bishops from all over the world, because “the bishops would have absolutely no credibility in addressing this topic.” Chaput’s appeal to Pope Francis is just the latest fallout after a report from the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office last month detailed allegations of sexual abuse by Pennsylvania priests spanning seven decades. Following that report, Pope Francis himself was accused by a former Vatican ambassador of covering up sexual abuse.