As Pope Francis Prepares To Meet Sex Abuse Victims, Letter Asking All U.S. Bishops To Resign Garners 3,500 Signatures

Cardinal Sean O'Malley is apologizing for how his office handled a 2015 letter that raised concerns about sexual abuse by another American cardinal.

This follows Pope Francis' letter Monday condemning sexual misconduct and coverups of abuse by clergy, in light of a scathing grand jury report detailing decades of abuse of more than 1,000 children by hundreds of priests in Pennsylvania.

But some Catholic theologians, educators, parishoners and leaders in the U.S. are going a step further: They've written a letter calling on all Catholic bishops in the U.S. to resign, which they plan to submit to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) tomorrow at midnight. So far, the letter has garnered more than 3,500 signatures.

John Allen, editor of Crux, an online publication specializing in coverage of the Vatican and the Catholic Church.
Bill Mitchell, retired journalist and adjunct professor at Northeastern University, and current member of the pastoral council of the Paulist Center.
Thomas H. Groome, professor of theology and religious education at Boston College.