'How Will We Explain This?' US Bishops Shocked, Disappointed as Pope Francis Bars Action on Sex Abuse

Top U.S. bishops have admitted their disappointment and frustration as the Vatican has blocked immediate action on the child sex abuse scandal.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops was preparing for its annual meeting in Baltimore on Monday when officials received a letter from the Vatican ordering a halt to any actions on the issue, until a global summit at the Holy See scheduled for February takes place.

"It makes it look like we don't care," said Bishop Thomas Daly, of Spokane, Washington, speaking of the delay.

"No reason is good enough for the laypeople who expect the bishops to act .... How are we going to explain this to the people back in our dioceses?" he asked, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, president of the USCCB, echoed the frustrations at his opening remarks at the conference.

"We are not, ourselves, happy about this," DiNardo said. "We're disappointed, because we were moving along on this."

The child sex abuse scandals have swept through Catholic countries around the world, including America. In August, a 1,300 page report by a Pennsylvania grand jury exposed systematic cover up of abuse by Catholic hierarchy across the state, concerning 301 priests who abused over 1,000 children in the past several decades.

"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," Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said at the time.

The report came weeks after former cardinal and archbishop of Washington D.C., Theodore McCarrick, was stripped of his title, following "credible and substantiated" evidence that he was also involved in sexual abuse.

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