Pope Francis has rejected a German cardinal’s offer to resign, over the mishandling of the Catholic Church’s sexual abuse crisis. Cardinal Reinhard Marx said earlier this month that he should share responsibility for the “catastrophe” of abuse by Catholic priests. Cardinal Marx is Archbishop of Munich, and one of the Church’s most influential liberal figures. He is not under investigation himself, either for abuse or for covering it up. Pope Francis said he understood the priest’s motivation, but rejected the resignation offer. “That is my answer, dear Brother. Continue as you suggest (in your pastoral work), but as Archbishop of Munich,” the Pope wrote in a letter released by the Vatican. Cardinal Marx was previously head of the Catholic Church in Germany, which is facing scrutiny over hundreds of historic abuse allegations.(BBC)…[+]