The Vatican has announced that the Pope has accepted the resignation of US archbishop Rembert Weakland of Milwaukee.
The 75-year-old's resignation came hours before a 53-year-old man went on national television to allege that he had been abused by the archibishop more than 20 years ago.
Paul Marcoux alleged the archbishop had paid him nearly $500,000 to keep quiet. Weakland admitted yesterday that he had made a financial settlement with the man.
The statement from the Vatican came as the Pope continued his tour of Bulgaria. After meeting President Georgi Parvanov, Pope John Paul said he had cleared Bulgaria of any link in the attempt to assassinate him in 1981.
It had long been speculated that the Balkan state had been involved in the attempt on his life.
