Pope Francis accepts resignation of German bishop

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of the bishop of Osnabrück, a city in north-western Germany, the Vatican said on Saturday.

Bishop Franz-Josef Bode, who has been criticized for his handling of abuse cases in the Church, will also leave the Osnabrück diocese.

Pope Francis accepted a letter of resignation from the bishop, the Vatican announced, without giving further reasons.

A victims' council accused Bode of declaring a case of sexualized violence against minors as a "relationship" as recently as last year.

In December, the council called in the Vatican and filed a complaint against Bode, saying his attitude was still more perpetrator-oriented than victim-oriented.

Also counting against Bode are his actions regarding cases of abuse in the diocese of Osnabrück. In one case, a priest had been sexually abusing a girl in a parish for years. The experts who drew up a recent report accused Bode of having given the priest a leadership position in youth work in the same year that the girl reported the man to the bishop.

Until now, Bode had said that he would not resign.

The chairman of the German Bishops' Conference, Georg Bätzing, acknowledged the resignation with "great regret and respect," the conference announced in a statement.

Bode has been the bishop of Osnabrück since 1995.