Kentucky bishop resigns amid abuse allegations

J. Kendrick Williams has resigned as bishop of the Diocese of Lexington, Kentucky.

VATICAN CITY (CNN) -- The Vatican said Tuesday that Bishop J. Kendrick Williams of Lexington, Kentucky, had resigned.

The bishop, 65, has been accused in several sex abuse cases, according to news reports.

The Vatican said it had accepted the resignation.

In a brief statement last week to Cross Roads, the biweekly newspaper of the Diocese of Lexington, Williams denied allegations of abuse against him made by two men in lawsuits.

"I have never sexually abused anyone at any time in my life," Williams told the paper. "I do not know why these two men would say these things."

The allegations were made in lawsuits against the Archdiocese of Louisville, where Williams was a priest until 1984 when he was consecrated as auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Covington, Kentucky.

The Rev. James Sichko, the coordinator of campus ministries in the Lexington Diocese, said he is saddened and shocked at the series of events. Sichko said he is hopeful the allegations against Williams "are not true."

"I stand behind my bishop," he said.

Sichko said he and other priests in the diocese received a letter from Williams on his move. In the letter, Sichko said that Williams wrote:

"Without question, this was the most agonizing decision that I have ever had to make in my life. I assure you that my resignation should not give credence to the allegations made against me.

"I will continue to fight vigorously to clear my name. However, my inability to act in full capacity as bishop and the indefinite period of time that it will take to clear my name has prompted me to take this course of action."

Williams steps down as the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops prepares to meet this week in Dallas, Texas, to vote on proposed rules for disciplining clergymen accused of sexually abusing children.

The recommendations include defrocking priests who abuse minors in the future as well as those who have molested more than one child previously.

Bishop Anthony J. O'Connell resigned in March from the Diocese of Palm Beach, Florida, after admitting he sexually abused a former seminarian in the 1970s.

In May, Pope John Paul II accepted the resignation of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Archbishop Rembert Weakland amid reports that he sexually assaulted a former Marquette University graduate student. Weakland denied abusing anyone but acknowledged a settlement agreement with the former student. He had submitted his resignation in April on his 75th birthday but asked the Vatican to speed up its acceptance after the settlement was revealed.