Protesters in Buffalo Call on Papal Nuncio to Remove Bp. Malone

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BUFFALO, N.Y. (ChurchMilitant.com) - Catholic laity came to protest outside a Catholic Charities USA conference in Buffalo.

Nearly a dozen protesters showed up outside the event on Wednesday, calling on Bp. Richard Malone of the Buffalo diocese to resign.

Archbishop Christophe Pierre, papal nuncio to the United States, was present at the Catholic Charities event. The protesters also called on Pierre to force Malone out of the diocese.

One of the demonstrators, a mother who brought her young son to the protest in a stroller, said to local news, "I heard that the papal nuncio would be here. I know he does have the ability to remove the bishop."

"I thought this was a perfect opportunity to come out and make my voice be heard," she added.

The same protester told local news station WKBW, "I think it's so important that we take our Church back."

One sign seen at the protest stated, "Start Protecting God's Children! Remove Malone!"

One man held a pair of placards that said, "Bishops Knew About McCarrick AND DID NOTHING."

Members of the press were not allowed inside Buffalo Niagara Convention Center for the Catholic Charities event. A spokesperson for Catholic Charities said the organization had no comment on the protest.

Faithful Catholics have also been protesting outside St. Joseph Cathedral in Buffalo, demanding transparency, holding signs, praying the Rosary and demanding Bp. Malone's resignation.

Despite repeated calls for his resignation in the past few weeks, Bp. Richard Malone has affirmed that he has no plans of stepping down. In a message to the faithful dated Sept. 7, Bp. Malone said, "Leaving this diocese in the middle of this daunting challenge would probably be easier for me personally, but I intend to meet it in the best way I can for the next few years, until my retirement in 2021 is accepted by the Holy Father."

"I pray for God's help and for your support," he added.

In March this year, the Buffalo diocese released a list of 42 priests who were removed from ministry, left ministry or retired after allegations of sexually abusing minors. The release of this list was done as a supposed act of transparency.

But the investigative team at WKBW recently revealed that the list is deceiving. The diocese's own internal documents show that they narrowed down the list of accused priests from 117 to 42.

Eleven priests' names were removed because the allegations against them were deemed not credible, narrowing the list to 106. Additionally, 25 accused priests were members of religious orders. Nineteen accused priests got taken off the list because they are deceased with only one alleged victim. Another 20 priests were left off because they did not meet the diocese's narrowly defined conditions for disclosure.

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