Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Washington, D.C. archbishop Cardinal Donald Wuerl after heavy criticism over his handling of sexual abuse in the Church, the Washington Post reports.

Why it matters: This is seen as a small but important step forward for the Catholic Church which has been under a microscope since a bombshell grand jury report revealed systemic abuse by hundreds of priests in Pennsylvania. Wuerl had "been seen as a pioneer in the church" on the issue of sex abuse in the church, but the grand jury report showed "an alternative picture" of him, the Post reports, one which showed that he failed to take action against abuse during his time in Pittsburgh from 1988 to 2006.