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By Matthew Impelli
Life & Trends Reporter
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Sean O'Malley, the Archbishop of Boston and ally of Pope Francis, who led the church's fight against child sex abuse, has resigned.
Pope Francis accepted O'Malley's resignation on Monday and appointed Richard Henning, the current Bishop of Providence, Rhode Island, to replace O'Malley as one of the most important Catholic archdioceses in the United States.
O'Malley's other main role as Francis' main adviser on fighting clergy sexual abuse as head of the pope's Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors was not mentioned in the announcement. This suggested he would remain in that capacity until a new commission leader is named, The Associated Press (AP) reported.
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The Archdiocese of Boston also issued an announcement on the appointment of Archbishop-elect Richard G. Henning.
The announcement said that Henning was born in Rockville Centre, New York in 1964 and "received a BA and MA in History from St. John's University, Queens New York and received his training for the priesthood at the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in Huntington New York."
"In 2018, Pope Francis appointed Archbishop-elect Henning as an auxiliary bishop in the Diocese of Rockville Centre, where he served as a regional Vicar and later as the Vicar for Clergy and Pastoral Planning," the announcement said.
O'Malley was first appointed as the Archbishop of Boston in 2003 by then-Pope St. John Paul II. His appointment came at the peak of a sexual abuse scandal by clergy members, uncovered by the Boston Globe newspaper.
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Newsweek reached out to the Vatican via email and the Archdiocese of Boston via their website for comment.
In a post to X, formerly Twitter, Bishop Robert Reed, the auxiliary Bishop of Boston said, "Blessed are we, @Bostoncatholic; Pope Francis has named Richard Henning as Archbishop of Boston. And there are not enough words to express our tremendous gratitude to Cardinal Seán O'Malley!!!"
O'Malley's resignation was also confirmed by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops which said, "The resignation and appointment were publicized in Washington, D.C. on Aug. 5, 2024, by Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States."
According to the Archdiocese of Boston, Henning will become the "tenth bishop and seventh archbishop of the Archdiocese of Boston."
Earlier this year, the Vatican published a 20-page declaration called the "Infinite Dignity," which shared the church's views on many aspects including transgender individuals, which said that God created man and woman as biologically different beings, and that people should not try to alter that plan or "make oneself God."
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