The Feb. 21-24, 2019 meeting is believed to be the first of its kind.

While he has defended his record, arguing that he removed priests accused of sexual abuse of minors from ministry in Pittsburgh, the cardinal has previously acknowledged that in other cases, he came up short.

In the wake of this scandal, I do not blame people for leaving the church.

Pope Francis will meet with three U.S. archbishops on Thursday, Sept. 13, as the church continues to grapple with fallout from sexual abuse scandals.

The concern of now-retired Pope Benedict XVI and the promises made by the majority of church leaders were not able to stop the evil of clerical sexual abuse, which has been the 9/11 of the Catholic Church, the retired pope's personal secretary said.

The cardinal council members said that they were aware the Holy See “is formulating the eventual and necessary clarifications” to the Viganò documents among other recent events.