OLEAN (NY)
Olean Herald
December 8, 2019
After resisting calls for him to resign for several months, Bishop Richard Malone took what he called “early retirement” Wednesday and stepped down as leader of the Diocese of Buffalo.
In his exit, Malone offered acknowledgement he made mistakes in his handling of the flood of sexual abuse claims against priests dating back decades, but he still pointed out that during his tenure no priest ordained in the past 30 years had an allegation of child sex abuse substantiated.
That assertion alone perhaps helps explain why the now former bishop, despite widespread calls from the Catholic community throughout Western New York for him to step down, held out for as long as he did. A “this wasn’t on my watch” justification simply wasn’t enough to appease abuse victims and their families, as well as an active and discerning Catholic community that has been looking for both justice and healing.
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