The "regular canonical trial" for an accused bishop, experts say, usually would be conducted by the apostolic tribunal of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Archbishop Gregory said Catholics are specifically "enraged" about allegations of abuse by Archbishop Theodore E. McCarrick and find "any pastoral negligence in protecting our people is similarly grievous."

Sexual abuse at two leading Catholic schools in England was considerably higher than is reflected by conviction figures.

Dealing with the reality of potential abuse and the history of clerical sexual abuse in the church is a process.

"Making this a gay issue is distraction, mostly, an attempt to place blame mostly (away from) from the clerical cover-up culture. It does a major disservice to women who were abused by the church and also a major disservice to gay priests."

“I get far more emails and phone calls about things like immigration, issues that are more politically controversial.”