The Vatican has said it has removed two cardinals implicated in sexual abuse cases from a powerful council of advisers picked by Pope Francis to guide him on matters critical to the future of the Catholic Church.

One of the cardinals is George Pell of Australia, who has been facing charges of sexual abuse of minors in legal proceedings that are subject to a gag order in that country, suppressing news coverage until after they have concluded.

The other is Cardinal Francisco Javier Errázuriz of Chile, who has been accused of covering up abuse.

Members of the nine-member council of advisers, known as the C9, who met in Rome this week, had asked the pope to reflect on the “work, structure and composition of the council, taking into account the advanced age of some members.” According to a statement on Wednesday by a Vatican spokesman, Greg Burke, the pope had done just that.

Mr Burke’s statement said the pope had written in October to both Mr Pell and Mr Errázuriz, and had concluded by “thanking them for their service” over the last five years.

The pope also dismissed a third cardinal, Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya, the 79-year-old archbishop of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.

But Mr Pell, 77, and Mr Errázuriz, 85, the two other oldest members on the council, had much more than their age going against them.

In June, Pope Francis granted a leave of absence to Mr Pell, the highest-ranking Roman Catholic prelate to be formally charged with sexual offences, so he could defend himself in Australia. He has been facing charges on child sexual offences in the county court of Victoria.

For years, Mr Pell was considered the Vatican’s de facto finance chief, and his allies in Rome attribute the charges against him to church infighting.

But he also has been accused in hearings before Australia’s Royal Commission Into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse of mishandling misconduct cases against clergy members while he served as the leader of the archdioceses of Melbourne and Sydney.

More accusations subsequently surfaced that he had sexually abused minors beginning early in his priesthood.

He has repeatedly denied the accusations, including during an extraordinary news conference in the Vatican last year, when he said, “I’d just like to restate my innocence.”

The proceedings against him in Australia have been extremely secretive because of the gag order, which is designed to prevent juries being swayed.

Mr Errázuriz, the retired archbishop of Santiago, is well over the usual retirement age and had, along with the rest of the Chilean bishop’s conference, tendered his resignation to Pope Francis in May.

Months earlier, during a trip to Chile and Peru, the pope had defended Chilean bishops against accusations of covering up abuse. That remark, and other missteps, led to an outcry among victims of sex abuse and their supporters, who considered the pope tone-deaf on an issue that has jeopardised his legacy.

The pope ultimately changed direction, dispatching his top sex abuse investigator to Chile and convening all the Chilean bishops at a meeting in Rome, where he accused them of mishandling and covering up an extensive child sexual abuse scandal in the country. They offered their resignations en masse.

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of several of the bishops so far, but not that of Mr Errázuriz.

In September, Pope Francis defrocked – or “reduced to the lay state” – the Reverend Fernando Karadima, Chile’s most infamous pedophile priest, seven years after a Vatican investigation relegated the priest to a life of “prayer and penance” for his sex crimes.

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And in October, the Associated Press reported that some victims of Karadima had filed a criminal complaint against Mr Errázuriz, accusing him of perjury, and of covering up Karadima’s crimes. The cardinal has denied he did so.

One of Karadima’s principal accusers, Juan Carlos Cruz, recounted in an interview this year that the Chilean cardinal had inferred that Mr Cruz, who is gay, might have liked being molested, “so he wasn’t sure I was a victim”.

Emails leaked in 2015 showed Mr Errázuriz had tried to block Mr Cruz from being appointed to the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, which the pope had created in March 2014, to offer best practices for dealing with the issue.

Pope Francis is facing the greatest crisis of his pontificate as the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church has exploded once again in countries around the world. In the US, especially, civil authorities have more aggressively investigated abuse in the church, including widespread abuse in Pennsylvania over decades.

Attorneys general in about 16 states have undertaken their own investigations.

In August, the pope’s former ambassador to the US, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, accused him of knowing about the inappropriate behaviour of a former American cardinal, Theodore McCarrick, who resigned as a cardinal in July and was ordered by the pope to a life of prayer and penance.

Opponents to Pope Francis have seized on the accusations, which have until now been unsubstantiated, to weaken the 81-year-old pontiff.

In October, the pope reluctantly accepted the resignation of the former cardinal’s successor, Cardinal Donald Wuerl, who in a report by a Pennsylvania grand jury was frequently cited for poorly handling accusations against priests when he was the bishop of Pittsburgh.

Pope Francis suggested Mr Wuerl could have defended himself, (he in fact did) but chose not to for the unity of the church and was thus a model for the future unity of the church.

Abuse victims and their supporters, while dubious of the accusations against the pope by Mr Viganò, have nevertheless expressed repeated concern that Pope Francis, for all his attention to the plight of migrants and the poor, has insufficiently safeguarded minors.

Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Show all 55 1 /55 Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Pope Francis celebrates the Holy Mass at the Phoenix Park, in Dublin AP Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Pope Francis arrives at Phoenix Park for a Papal Mass of the World Meeting of Families in Dublin EPA Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures A vigil takes place at the site of the mass grave which contained the remains of 796 named babies from the Bon Secours Mother and Baby home in Tuam. The vigil coincides with the Phoenix park mass which is taking place in Dublin held by Pope Francis. Excavations at the site in 2017 revealed underground structures which held babies bodies with ages ranging from 35 weeks to three years old with most of the dead buried in the 1950s when the facility was run by the Bon Secours Sisters, a Catholic religious order of nuns who received unmarried pregnant women to give birth Getty Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures An aerial view of the crowd at Phoenix Park Getty Images Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Children queue for communion during Pope Francis' closing Mass PA Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures The Stand4Truth rally gathers outside a former Magdalene laundry in Dublin as part of the demonstrations against clerical sex abuse PA Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Pope Francis leads the Holy Mass at Phoenix Park AFP/Getty Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Pope Francis arrives to celebrate the Holy Mass at the Phoenix Park AP Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures The names of the victims are read out as a vigil takes place at the site of the mass grave which contained the remains of 796 named babies from the Bon Secours Mother and Baby home Getty Images Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Pope Francis leads the Holy Mass at Phoenix Park AFP/Getty Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures A member of the clergy carries a bowl of incense PA Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Pope Francis celebrates the Holy Mass at the Phoenix Park, in Dublin, Ireland, Sunday, Aug. 26, 2018. Pope Francis is on the second of his two-day visit to Ireland. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham) Matt Dunham AP Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures A vigil takes place at the site of the mass grave which contained the remains of 796 named babies Getty Images Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Members of the public pray as they watch Pope Francis deliver a Papal Mass of the World Meeting of Families at Phoenix Park EPA Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Pope Francis attends the closing Mass at the World Meeting of Families at Phoenix Park in Dublin PA Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Pope Francis passes by a banner of a protester as he leaves St Mary's Pro-Cathedral AP Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Pope Francis speaks during his visit to the Capuchin Day Centre for Homeless in Dublin AP Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Pope Francis waves to the waiting crowds on Christchurch PA Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Pope Francis waves to the waiting crowds on College Green PA Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Members of the public wave at Pope Francis as he travels through the city Getty Images Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Pope Francis laughs as he leaves St Mary's Pro Cathedral during his visit to Dublin Reuters Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Two boys wave flags after climbing a post as they wait for Pope Francis Getty Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Pairs of baby shoes are hung from black ribbons on Gardiner Street in Dublin in memory of the children who died at the Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home in Tuam, Co Galway PA Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Crowds on O'Connell Street PA Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures DUBLIN, IRELAND - AUGUST 25: (NO SALES) In this handout image provided by Maxwell Photography for 2018 WMOF2018, Pope Francis and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar greet a child at Dublin Castle on August 25, 2018 in Dublin, Ireland. Pope Francis is the 266th Catholic Pope and current sovereign of the Vatican. His visit, the first by a Pope since John Paul II's in 1979, is expected to attract hundreds of thousands of Catholics to a series of events in Dublin and Knock. During his visit he will have private meetings with victims of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy. (Photo by WMOF2018/Maxwell Photography via Getty Images) Handout WMOF2018/Maxwell Photography/Getty Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Pope Francis memorabilia on sale on O'Connell Street PA Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Pope Francis arrives at St Mary's Pro-Cathedral during his visit to Ireland to attend the 2018 World Meeting of Families AFP/Getty Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Pope Francis waves to the waiting crowds on O'Connell Street PA Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Pope Francis addresses the congragation at St Mary's Pro-Cathedral AFP/Getty Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Stephen O'Brien selling bottles of holy water from the St Mary's Pro Cathedral PA Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Pope Francis prays inside St Mary's Pro Cathedral Reuters Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures A man waves a rainbow flag behind a model of a pope which stands in the window above a bar Getty Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures People hold a banner against Pope Francis on the way to St Mary's Pro-Cathedral AP Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Nuns wait by the side of the road for Pope Francis Reuters Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures A model of a pope is placed in the window above a bar as crowds wait for Pope Francis to travel through the city Getty Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Crowds on O'Connell Street, Dublin waiting to see Pope Francis as he travels in the Popemobile PA Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Pope Francis waves to wellwishers as he arrives at Dublin Airport Getty Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures His visit, the first by a Pope since John Paul II's in 1979 is expected to attract hundreds of thousands of Catholics to a series of events in Dublin and Knock PA Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Pope Francis talks to journalists aboard a plane flying from Fiumicino aiport to Dublin AFP/Getty Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures LGBT protestors from Dublin Pride and We Are Church with flags and umbrellas on Ha'Penny Bridge, Dublin to remember the victims of clerical sex abuse ahead of the start of the visit to Ireland by Pope Francis PA Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Pope Francis disembarks from the aircraft as he arrives at Dublin Airport Getty Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Woman wait for Pope Francis to drive past, in Dublin Reuters Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Pope Francis arrives at Dublin International Airport, at the start of his two-day visit to Ireland, August 25, 2018. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne CLODAGH KILCOYNE Reuters Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Taoiseach Leo Varadkar delivers a speech watched by Pope Francis in St. Patrick's Hall at Dublin Castle WMOF2018/Maxwell Photography/Getty Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Protesters hold banners during a demonstration against clerical sex abuse, in Dublin Reuters Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Pope Francis plants a tree during a meeting with Irish President Michael D Higgins, at Aras an Uachtarain PA Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Pope Francis walks with the President of Ireland Michael Higgins at Aras an Uachtarain WMOF2018/Maxwell Photography/Getty Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Pope Francis arrives at Dublin International Airport, at the start of his two-day visit to Ireland, August 25, 2018. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne CLODAGH KILCOYNE Reuters Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Pope Francis, center, is flanked by Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, right, as they arrive to meet authorities, in Dublin AP Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Protestors wearing baby shoes, to signify the children who died in mother and baby homes in Ireland, protest in Dublin ahead of the start of the visit to Ireland by Pope Franci PA Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Pope Francis exchanges gifts with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar AFP/Getty Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Pope Francis speaks with President Michael D Higgins in his study during a visit to Aras an Uachtarain in Phoenix Park, Dublin PA Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Navy band march prior to the arrival of Pope Francis at the Presidential residence in Dublin AP Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Eddie McGuinness from Dublin LGBTQ Pride carries a rainbow flag across Ha'Penny Bridge, Dublin ahead of the start of the visit to Ireland by Pope Francis PA Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures A message left by Pope Francis in the visitors book at Aras an Uachtarain in Phoenix Park PA

They want a concrete, systematic and universal set of norms that enforces zero tolerance and accountability within the church when it comes to sex abuse.

The pope, who has championed a collegial approach to church governance that empowers bishops and takes into account their cultural diversity, has responded to the crisis by scheduling a meeting in February of the presidents of bishops conferences.

In November, the pope surprised American bishops at a meeting of their conference in Baltimore by sending a letter that required them to delay voting on measures to hold bishops accountable for failing to protect children from abusive clergy.

The reason was to avoid interfering with the February meeting, his supporters said, acknowledging that the action only raised expectations that the pope would force the church to take concrete demonstrable actions to address the abuse.

Neither Mr Pell or Mr Errázuriz attended the meetings in Rome this week. Among the subjects discussed, according to the Vatican statement, was the February meeting with the presidents of the world’s bishops conferences on the theme of the protection of minors.