VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis has removed two cardinals from his informal Cabinet after they were implicated in the Catholic Church’s sex abuse and cover-up scandal, shedding embarrassing advisers ahead of a high-stakes Vatican summit on abuse early next year. “Following the request expressed from the Cardinals, at the end of the 26th meeting of the Council of Cardinals, following a reflection on the work, the structure and the composition of the same council, keeping also in consideration the advanced age of some members, the Pope, at the end of October, has written to his Eminence Cardinal George Pell, to his Eminence the Cardinal Francisco Javier Errazuriz and to his Eminence the Cardinal Laurent Monsignor Pasinya thanking them for their work in the past five years,’’ the Vatican said. A third C-9 cardinal, Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya, 79, of the Democratic Republic of Congo, was also leaving the group, Burke told a briefing on the C-9’s latest meeting, which ended on Wednesday. His Chilean colleague, Francisco Javier Errazuriz, faces accusations that he covered up alleged child abuse while serving as Archbishop of Santiago, claims he also denies. Pell has taken an indefinite leave of absence from his job as head of the Secretariat for the Economy, one of the most powerful posts in the Vatican, to defend himself from prosecution for historical child sexual offences in Australia.
Pope Francis removes Australian prelate George Pell and Chilean prelate Francisco Javier Errázuriz Ossa from the Council of Cardinal Advisers. Both are accused of covering up child sexual abuse scandals. Former Archbishop of Kinshasa Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya also leaves the Council for unrelated reasons.