BUFFALO (NY)
WKBW TV
Sept. 5, 2019
The Movement to Restore Trust (MRT), a group of powerful and influential Catholics formed in 2018 to assert the laity’s rightful role in the Church, contacted Bishop Malone Thursday asking that he resign immediately.
We make this request of Bishop Malone with a degree of humility and sadness. We had embarked upon our work with the hope that we could be a catalyst for reform and the restoration of trust of the faithful in the diocese. While we have made some progress toward that goal by working with Bishop Malone and the Joint Implementation Team, recent events and disclosures have led us to conclude that the diocese is at a critical point and that further progress is not possible. We believe that continuing to press forward under these circumstances jeopardizes MRT’s comprehensive reform agenda and compromises our ability to be agents for positive change.
The move is striking and potentially devastating for Bishop Malone’s future in Buffalo, as the MRT and Canisius College President John Hurley were seen as key allies in Malone’s efforts to remain in Buffalo. The bishop, in fact, cited the group multiple times in his news conference Wednesday where he said he would not resign.
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