Pope Francis on Saturday accepted the resignation of Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, one of the U.S.

Catholic Church's most prominent figures who has been at the center of a widening sexual abuse scandal.

Last month, American Church officials said allegations that he sexually abused a 16-year-old boy almost 50 years ago were credible and substantiated.

Since then, another minor has come forward claiming McCarrick abused him when he was 11 years old, and several men alleged McCarrick forced them to sleep with him at a beach house in New Jersey when they were adult seminarians studying for the priesthood.

McCarrick's sudden fall from grace stunned the American Church because he was a widely respected leader for decades and a confidant of popes and presidents.

McCarrick has said that he had "absolutely no recollection" of the alleged abuse of the teenager 50 years ago but has not commented on the other allegations.

The allegations against McCarrick, which first surfaced publicly last month, came with pope Francis facing an image crisis on a second front, in Chile, where a growing abuse scandal has enveloped the Church in the Latin American country.