This Has been a torrid summer for Pope Francis when it comes to sexual abuse. Allegations that Theodore McCarrick had sexually harassed and abused minors and young seminarians for several decades led to him resigning from the cardinalate. Two days later, it was announced that the Pope had accepted the resignation of Archbishop Philip Wilson of Adelaide, the highest ranking churchman to be criminally convicted of covering up sexual abuse.

The question of abuse is likely to be back on the agenda later this month, when Francis travels to Dublin for the World Meeting of Families. He is under pressure to address a scandal that has had a devastating effect on the Irish Church’s credibility. One of the most pressing questions the Pope must deal with is the process for handling allegations of abuse and sexual misconduct made against bishops and cardinals, which Cardinal Sean O’Malley, Francis’ senior advisor on child protection, says the Church currently lacks.