Vatican City • Pope Francis has declined to accept the resignation of French Cardinal Philippe Barbarin as archbishop of Lyon after he was convicted of failing to report a known predator priest to police, the Vatican said Tuesday.
The decision greatly disappointed abuse survivors, given that Barbarin had traveled to the Vatican on Monday to present his resignation after the March 7 verdict and six-month suspended sentence he received.
Vatican spokesman Alessandro Gisotti said Tuesday that during the audience, Francis didn’t accept the resignation and instead asked Barbarin to do what he thinks is best for the archdiocese.