ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — We wanted to ask Buffalo Bishop Richard Malone what solutions he would like to see come out of this week's summit at the Vatican, but he declined our interview request at a Catholic Charities event Wednesday.
Malone did speak with 2 On Your Side's Steve Brown in November at a meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Baltimore, where U.S. Bishops had planned to vote on measures to address the abuse crisis.
But that vote was cancelled at the request of the Vatican and postponed until after this week's global summit.
"Apparently the Pope wants us to wait on any action here until all of the conferences of the world have been involved in the discussion. But I'm disappointed as well. I, I've been fully supportive of the actions towards Episcopal accountability," Malone said in November. "We have to remember, too, that the Church is not just American, but universal. And this crisis, tragically, is universal as well."
"But the patience is so short in your parishes these days," Brown said.
"Yup, mine is, too, right now. I'll tell ya," Malone said.
Patience is also wearing thin for many abuse survivors. Some have traveled to the Vatican, where on Wednesday they said they're getting mixed messages from the church.
"In the United States, the Bishops, the Church has admitted that there are over 6,000 priests who have been reported to the Vatican, and I want to know who are these men, and where are they?" asked abuse survivor Phil Saviano.
Ahead of Thursday's four-day summit, Pope Francis called those who "spend their lives ... accusing the Church"... "friends, cousins, and relatives of the Devil."
The Pope didn't specifically refer to the abuse crisis but acknowledged that wrong must be reported and called for forgiveness.
Also Thursday, a law firm is holding a press conference in Manhattan where it plans on releasing the names of more than 100 people tied to the Archdiocese of New York who are accused of sexual misconduct.