Polish bishop resigns over sexual abuse coverup

WARSAW: Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of a Polish bishop over allegations he was involved in covering up child sexual abuse by priests, the Vatican said in a statement on Wednesday.

The case is the latest in a long string of sexual abuse allegations that have shaken Poland’s politically influential Catholic Church. Pope Francis "accepted the resignation" of Bydgoszcz Bishop Jan Tyrawa in connection with "reported negligence... in cases of sexual abuse against minors," according to the statement forwarded to local media by the Vatican’s ambassador to Warsaw.

In a spectacular move in March this year, a Polish state committee lodged a complaint alleging that an influential aide to late Polish-born pope John Paul II covered up clerical sexual abuse.