Close ally of Pope Francis retires as Boston archbishop

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Cardinal Sean O'Malley as archbishop of Boston and named the current bishop of Providence, Rhode Island, Richard Henning, to replace him as leader of one of the most important Catholic archdioceses in the United States.

The announcement from the Vatican on Monday did not mention O'Malley's other main role as Francis' main adviser on fighting clergy sexual abuse as head of the Pope's Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, suggesting he would remain in that capacity until a new commission leader is named.

St John Paul II had tapped O'Malley to take over in Boston in 2003 at the height of the clergy sexual abuse scandal that had exploded there following an investigation by the Boston Globe newspaper.

Revelations of years of abuse and cover-ups by the church led to the downfall of then-archbishop Cardinal Bernard Law, who resigned in disgrace in December 2002.

At age 80, O'Malley is five years beyond the usual retirement age for bishops.

Francis has long expressed his esteem for the Franciscan friar and selected him as a founding member of his core cardinal advisers, known as the C9.

In that role O'Malley advised Francis not only on child protection issues but also helped design the reform of the Vatican bureaucracy.