Faced with a sexual-abuse crisis that has rocked the Catholic Church in multiple continents, the Vatican has opted to delay taking action.

The surprise decision was announced Monday at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Baltimore, where church leaders were expected to vote on several measures to address sexual abuse by the clergy, including a new code of conduct and creation of a special commission to review complaints against bishops.

Instead, the Vatican asked that they hold off on voting until after a February gathering with bishops from around the world convened by Pope Francis to deal with the growing scandal.

Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, president of the body of bishops, expressed disappointment with the Vatican’s decision but said, “I remain hopeful that this additional consultation will ultimately improve our response to the crisis we face.’’

Scrutiny over sexual abuse by the clergy intensified with the release in August of a grand jury report in Pennsylvania that revealed more than 300 Catholic priests had abused more than 1,000 children – and likely many more – over seven decades, and church leaders had given them cover.

“Priests were raping little boys and girls, and the men of God who were responsible for them not only did nothing; they hid it all. For decades,’’ the report said.

Clergy abuse scandals have also surfaced this year in South America and Australia.

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Though Pope Francis has denounced the abuse, critics say he has failed to back up his words with actions and has been slow to adopt changes. The three-month deferment imposed on the U.S. bishops may bolster those contentions.

The bishops may still discuss the proposals on the agenda – they include setting up a hotline to report clergy abuse or mishandling of those cases, as well as establishing protocols for dealing with bishops removed from their posts because of abuse – but will not vote on them now.

“We had this agenda, we were moving forward on these documents, this was our goal,” said Bishop Christopher Coyne of the Vermont diocese of Burlington, the communications chair for the three-day conference. “And now … it will look like we don’t have to come up with much.”

John Gehring, the Catholic program director at Faith in Public Life, a Washington-based clergy network, was more pointed in his appraisal of the postponement.

“The Vatican just made a big mistake in asking US bishops to delay their votes on clergy abuse protocols,” Gehring tweeted. “The optics are terrible, and it sends a message, intended or not, that Rome doesn’t recognize the urgency of the moment.”

Contributing: The Associated Press