The pope has named a priest from the archdiocese of Boston, ground zero in the U.S. clerical sex abuse scandal, as his new sex crimes prosecutor.
The Vatican said Saturday that the Rev. Robert W. Oliver, a canonical expert in the archdiocese, replaces Bishop Charles Scicluna, who was recently named auxiliary bishop in his native Malta.
Scicluna's departure had sparked some fears among sex abuse victims that the Vatican might roll back on the tough line on clergy abuse hecharted in his 10 years at the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith.
The Vatican office, which Pope Benedict XVI headed for nearly a quarter century, reviews all cases of clerical sex abuse, telling bishops how to proceed against accused priests. -Sapa-AP