Francis saw Cardinal Wuerl as that shepherd, a force for unity. The cardinal’s Sept. 21 request that the pontiff accept his resignation reflected his dedication to “procure the good of the people entrusted to your care,” Francis wrote.

Cardinal Wuerl called the pope’s letter a “very, very beautiful” recognition of his effort to put his flock before himself, but added that the pope, in choosing his replacement, would select a bishop who began serving after the American church adopted new guidelines in 2002 to prevent and punish abuse.

He said he was “stepping aside to allow for new leadership that doesn’t have this baggage.”

Cardinal Wuerl had previously offered his resignation at age 75, as is customary in the church, but he was allowed to stay on in Washington, where he had served since 2006. In accepting his resignation now, Francis asked that Cardinal Wuerl remain as the apostolic administrator of the archdiocese.

Cardinal Wuerl, who is considered a moderate and a supporter of Francis’s style of papacy, spoke in the interview about the constructive role he hoped to play at the annual meeting of American bishops in November. “We are going to each be asked to speak our mind on what we think needs to be done,” he said.

And as a member of the Congregation for Bishops, Cardinal Wuerl will still shape the American church for decades to come by helping to pick its bishops.

That situation — of resigning under a cloud while maintaining Vatican power and status — recalls what happened to former Cardinal Bernard F. Law of Boston. After resigning in disgrace as archbishop in 2002, Cardinal Law kept his position on the Congregation for Bishops for a while, then lived out his years in Rome, where he was warmly welcomed at Vatican ceremonies and given an important basilica in Rome as his titular church.

The allegations against Cardinal Wuerl are complicated, and they pale in comparison with the cover-up by Cardinal Law, who moved abusive priests from parish to parish, rather than dismissing them, enabling the abuse to continue.