Bishop Franz Josef Bode of the Diocese of Osnabrück served as vice president of the German bishops' conference from 2017 to 2023. / Courtesy of Synodaler Weg/Maximilian von LachnerCNA Newsroom, Mar 25, 2023 / 08:56 am (CNA).Pope Francis accepted the resignation of a German bishop on Saturday who played a key role in the German Synodal Way and had come under pressure over his handling of clerical sexual abuse in his diocese. Bishop Franz Josef Bode had previously refused to step down, despite an abuse report finding he had mishandled cases in his diocese in northwestern Germany. The Holy See announced March 25 that Pope Francis had accepted the bishop of Osnabrück s request to resign, CNA Deutsch, CNA s German-language news partner, reported. There was no indication prior to Saturday s announcement that Bode had offered to resign.The 72-year-old bishop had been vice president of the German bishops conference since 2017. Reacting to the news, B.
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