A U.S.-based group that keeps track of how the Catholic hierarchy deals with allegations of sexual abuse by clergy says Pope Francis made a “troubling” choice in appointing an Argentine prelate to a powerful Vatican office that handles such cases.
On Saturday, the Vatican announced that the pontiff had picked Monsignor Victor Manuel Fernández, who is archbishop of La Plata, in the pope’s homeland, to head the Holy See’s watchdog office for doctrinal orthodoxy. That office’s mandate also includes handling of sex abuse allegations lodged against clergy.
