Boston's archbishop has been appointed to a top Vatican office that handles cases of clergy sex abuse.
The Vatican's press office announced on Saturday that Pope Francis has named Cardinal Sean O'Malley as the newest member of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF). The CDF enforces Church teachings and also judges sex abuse cases. Cardinal O'Malley will remain the Archbishop of Boston.
The move strengthens the cardinal's role as a key figure in the Church's work to prevent abuse. In 2014 he was named president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, an advisory body for the Pope.
Cardinal O'Malley was appointed Boston's archbishop in 2003 after Cardinal Bernard Law resigned in the wake of a clerical sex abuse scandal.
Officials at the Archdiocese of Boston could not immediately be reached for comment.
