What frustrates me as a practicing Catholic in the Diocese of Colorado Springs is that for the past decade, my diocese has been working fervently to protect children in light of what we knew about Boston, Pennsylvania, et al. These cover ups occurred for a long time but they came to light a decade ago and it's like all the work the Church has been doing to prevent it from happening ever again is ignored. We follow the same child safety rules as what is found in the Boy Scouts' Youth Protection TRaining, although we call it "Safe Environment Training." Anyone working with youth (in a paid or volunteer capacity on behalf of the Catholic Church) has to do "Safe Environment Training" ANNUALLY. The most important rule is when an adult is with children, it has to be "two deep." (Two adults at all times.) We are also trained to understand how predators groom not only vulnerable children, but also their vulnerable parents. Safe Environment Training has also gone on to include topics like bullying and Internet safety.
We are all appalled at the details now known about what occurred in Pennsylvania. We are praying for the victims. However, the news is not entirely "new" news and so, it contradicts a lot of the changes that have been made in the past ten years in response to these horrible acts.
Finally, on another note, I question the motives of Carlo Maria Vigano and his disclosure.
10
Pope Francis needs to answer these new allegations if he is to remain credible. This is another black mark the Church does not need. The world is watching and waiting for his response.
1
Archbishop Viganò’s attack on Pope Francis had been rightly recognized as a continuing effort by American Catholic conservatives to discredit efforts for a progressive and more inclusive church based in true Christian love.
11
There is a malaise in the Catholic Church, which no amount or degree of reform of protocal and personnel can cure. The infection lies deep within Church doctrine, and is related to the indisputable fact that the Church has strayed from or watered down the principles Jesus proclaimed and the example of righteous living he set for his disciples. For example, the radical, pacifistic instructions he laid out in his Sermon on the Mount leave no room for such distortions of his teaching as the philosophy of the pagan Cicero, who first enunciated what is now known as the "Christian Just-War Theory,"
CJWT was embraced by the Church only after it was subsumed by the Roman Empire under Constantine, and the mighty engine of oppression--the combination of Church and State--blossomed. In return for its cooperation in exploiting the laity by means of taxation, Constantine bestowed many favors on the Church and its hierarchy, including importantly a share in the lucre from Rome's violently collected taxes.
Squeezing out the puss from the Church wont be easy, for the infection was first introduced over 1700 years ago. It will require deep reflection on the principles Jesus preached and practiced, and a willingness to act upon them even when they appear to portend grave consequences and volatile kickback from those whose positions and emoluments may be threatened. In other words, it will require such great faith as the early martyrs exhibited when the Roman Empire demanded tribute.
4
As a born and raised Catholic, I wonder why anyone should give credence to Carlo Maria Viganò. He exploits the tragedy of abused children by the church to push his own agenda. Viganò deliberately tried to undercut Pope Francis’ message of inclusion when, unknown to the Pope, Viganò deviously and secretly arranged a meeting between homophobic Kim Davis and the Pope during his visit to America.
Viganò says he has known of the abusive clergy and those who covered it up. Why did he not publicly speak up rather than participate in the secret and leave the children vulnerable to more abuse.
Viganò exemplifies the hypocrisy of the Right Wing in the church. When Pope John Paul II reigned, the Right demanded strict adherence to the teachings of the Pope; they condemned questioning liberals; they demanded the excommunication of prominent Catholics who did not follow all the Pope’s teachings; and, they enshrined papal supremacy. Now we have Pope Francis, a progressive, and the Right does everything it can to criticize and demonize him even going so far as to coerce him into resigning.
Is it any wonder that Dante placed hypocrites in one of the Inferno’s lowest circles.
12
I completely distrust Vigano’s motives. That said, cover-up by Pope Francis is absolutely despicable. I think you’d be hard pressed to find a priest in a high level of power who didn’t cover up child rape - it has been just so ingrained and accepted in the culture. I’m not Catholic, but I would think if the church wanted to avoid this, they would consider allowing married Priests.
4
Vigano isn’t really that upset about the cover ups. He’s more upset about Francis trying to somewhat modernize Church views on marriage and sexuality.
The Catholic Church is losing converts left and right...same as all faiths are. Francis is trying to stem the flow.
Vigano is just another cynical old conservative bigot using the same tactics conservative bigots everywhere are using ...flinging nasty vitriol at whoever works for acceptance and inclusion. He uses his robe and his warped idea of “religion” to make others miserable.
Francis will survive this..but over time, I’m not sure the Catholic Church will. And as far as I’m concerned, the sooner organized religion...EVERY organized religion...dies, the better for humanity.
7
The Church is an anachronism to begin with. It bears no relevance to life in the 21st Century. The Pope is just another man doing or trying to do his job. Leave the man alone. At some point Francis will either retire, like the previous Pope did, or he will die in Office. Then someone else will come along to take his place. The Church is a corporate, conglomerate bureaucracy and has its politics and turf issues and personalities just like any other company or business.
3
Now, let's say there is no God. Remove it from the equation. How does it look like now?
Wondering why they are asking for money each week and all the time, why they talk about vocation and want your boys?
What's next? Franchising pizzeria with exclusive access to the back room?
1
Most pedophilia is committed against girls. This is true of the pedophilia as practiced by the priests (and cardinals and bishops). A pedophile is first and always someone who prefers sex with children. Whether they are hetero-, homo-, bisexual-pedophiles is of no importance. Adults who want to have sex with children are pedophiles. Pedophilia is the issue. It is very telling that Archbishop Vigano and his ilk use their vitriol to blame homosexuality for the sex abuse the Church aided and abetted. I recall decades ago when society at large generally made the same equation. The rest of us have learned how incorrect we were. The Church will have to get with the program and focus on why it attracts pedophiles, and condones/enables them as well. Oh, and turn over the assailants to the authorities for the same legal proceedings that any other human being in Western societies would be subject to.
7
Time for some Catholic WOMEN to clean up after these men. Too bad they’re so afraid of losing their power. WWJD. I’m praying for Pope Francis whom I trust.
8
To ask Pope Francis too resign is as short sighted and stupid as was asking Al Franken to resign. Neither of them is one of the bad guys.
9
A little over 2000 years ago a man was castigated by zealots within His own faith, and He also chose not to confront the falsehoods with vitriol, but with humility. The church needs Francis, but the accolytes crave power. Francis simply asked the press to do its job.
4
There's been a mass exodus of faithful parishioners that's been happening since the 90's. And we know this trend will not cease as long as the Catholic Church demands celibacy and refuses to allow female priests. There's been a long tradition of closeted gay men entering into seminary to become ordained. But humans cannot be conditioned not to have sexual desire, and certainly can't be taught not to love. His Holyness, Pope Francis, will need to recognize, now, that priests are not separate from the rest of humanity, and that they cannot be expected to guide their parish without knowing themselves the joys of being allowed to love and of having their own family.
7
Intra-curia politics. I love the smell of fratricide in the morning...
The Catholic Church is run by a group of isolated men who have been indoctrinated into believing that they are ordained to be individual replicas of Jesus. this religion is an ancient relic with a set of arcane rules and idiotic dress codes built upon the principle of male dominance. It is logical that such a group of power addicted males, responsible to no authority but their own, removed from female companionship, would then abuse young boys. this is a "Lord of the Flies" scenario in reverse. They insist on no accountability for their crimes against humanity and there is no societal rules to govern their behaviour. They even created their own city-state to hide within. This is a religion that has serious in-bred and hopefully fatal faults that will cause its extinction.
9
Prosecute the whole sordid mess under RICO and freeze the bank accounts.
I see no difference between an ongoing criminal enterprise and what the church is doing by continuing to deny, obfuscate, minimize, and cover up what has happened.
3
So much for the sacrament of Holy Orders. It would appear that little Grace has been bestowed on the priest at the time of Ordination. This then calls into question all of the Catholic beliefs.
1
Q: How long has the battle between the wealthy orders, including the Benedictine and, the friars minor sparked by St. Francis been going on?
The late Umberto Eco says the 1200s, and built “The Name of the Rose” around the debate over the poverty of Jesus, set in 1327, and the sexual antics in a cloister, leading directly to 2 of the 7 deaths in that theocratic mystery.
Here we have a supporter of a Pope who took the name Benedict making what the NYT calls “unsubstantiated charges” against the first Pope to ever take the name Francis.
Of course, in the Very Old Days, Francis would call his cardinal to obedience, with the threat of excommunication, trial for heresy, and the risk of arrest and being turned over to the “secular” government and a good old round of torture followed by burning at the stake.
Then again, during the 1300s Chaucer, among others, wrote about monks and nuns having sex together as an everyday occurrence.
I am not a Christian of any variety. I enjoy following modern religious politics as much as I enjoy modern politics from Andorra to Zambia.(This does not mean I am not saddened by the pain inflicted on victims reporting sexual abuse of clergy, from the thousands of Roman Catholics to the dozens by Chasidic Jews, abuse of wives by the original Church of Latter-Day Saints and its offshoots.)
And I’m also a medievalist, with a particular interest in the world around the era of the 100 Years’ War, and the High Middle Ages on general.
6
He was not aware of the Irish problem? Unbelievable. How could any Vatican clergy not be? And as far as his covering up the scandal perhaps it is true that Satan is alive and well in The Catholic Church. If this keeps up he may just be the last Pope as some have prophesied.
2
The Steele Dossier is gospel truth, but the Vigano letter, written by Vigano himself and not some unidentified source, naming names, is "unsubstantiated" in the view of Francis' defenders.
Got that.
5
@John Xavier III The Steele Dossier has been largely verified by Several different institutions separately, most of it is factual with only small portions uncorroborated, such as certain videos.
And do remember that it was originally commissioned by Republicans to get dirt so as to keep Trump from beating Them, THEN it got sold to the Clinton Team, so the sellers sold the same info Twice.
Vigano outs himself with the tone, timing and placement of outlet for this letter, it is clearly meant as a cannon shot against a Pope who can put Vigano in a cell, on his knees and praying for the rest of his short life, as a defrocked priest at that. Arch Bishop laid to the lowest of low.
Pope Francis should call out those of the time period of these crimes and defrock them all, all of the Cardinals, all of the Bishops and Arch-Bishops, if they ALL Knew ALL of this, then they ALL need to fall, and let THIS Pope do the replacing and reforming of what is left of The Church.
However, the extreme wealth of the organization, in art alone, gives it such power that some within the structure feel themselves Untouchable. THOSE particular men need to be handled somewhat roughly, cuffed and perp walked out of Vatican Territory and into the Real World of Real Consequences instead of their velvet and gilt, masterpiece painted rooms that should be museums in their own right, yet find them filled with rehabilitating pedophiles, rapists and financially political schemers living hidden in luxury.
4
i believe the only reason Francis was made Pope was because of the child abuse scandals. The people who chose him knew the Church needed a change. His opponents had their chance. If they want another one, they should put aside bald attempts to regain power and focus on setting an example by being better Catholics. Then maybe they'll actually deserve power, and be able to wield it capably.
9
This Francis was likely chosen for the same reason as the original one. He has his work cut out for him, if that’s the case
2
Does the church love Ireland? One column asked..... nope, never did, never will. And it’s mighty hard to find love in the Catholic Church’s history, sordid more often than not.
Will the church be rent asunder by civil war, anothercolumn asks. We can only fervently hope so. Iretrievably rent asunder, preferably.
It’s a rotten institution that’s long cared more about power and self-riches than people and their alleged souls.
And all over nothing more sustantial than a cruel, mean, sadistic, resentful, unforgiving, imaginary sky God, nobody in their right mind would want anything to do with.
6
@ N. Cunningham. Ireland has long been a bastion of conservative to ultra-conservative Catholicism. In fact Catholicism was almost a state religion. The continuing reports of of scandals and revelations of horrific behavior over the last 30 years have finally precipitated it's demise. But to think that the Irish laity did not participate in the years of horrific behavior would simply not be true.
2
I came to Catholicism late in life - my first grade Sunday School perfect attendance pin in the mid-20th century was at First Parish, Framingham (Unitarian), and when I took communion for the first time a few years later it included grape juice, not wine, in good Methodist fashion. I entered the Catholic Church two decades ago with my eyes open, though recent news has nevertheless impressed me with how deep and widespread the clerical corruption is. The problems are sex and power. It goes way, way back - to the idea that Mary was "ever virgin" - even though the Gospels refer to Jesus's siblings; and to the idea that the priest stands between the believer and God. I stay among the Catholics for the sake of my spouse, and because my fellow parishioners are good people who really intend to "turn away from sin and be faithful to the gospel - remember you are dust and to dust you shall return" - in the words of something we in the choir sing on Ash Wednesday. Catholics hungry for change can have a church that accepts gays, that lets women and married people serve as clergy, that accepts civil authority rather than hiding crimes against children - but that church is not the Catholic church of the imaginary future - that church is the Protestant church down the street today. May peace be with us all.
12
Religion is the root of all evil. And some religions are more evil than others. But all of them are just about power and control over others. They should be outlawed worldwide.
6
Actually, it’s the love of money, however everything you speak of follows that sin
2
Pope Francis refused to defend himself against Archbishop Viganò just as Christ refused to defend himself against the accusations of Caiaphas and Pilate. Instead, Pope Francis asked us to read Viganò's letter and judge for ourselves. I read it and here is what I conclude: First, that by his timing and the sweeping indictments of all of his political enemies in the Church's more liberal camp, Viganò seems to be motivated less by a desire to help the Church heal or to bring comfort and justice to the victims of clergy abuse and more by the same partisan lust for power that we in America have seen too much of in recent years. Second, that Viganò seems to believe that homosexuality is like vampirism, and that homosexuals have organized a secret underground movement to prey on and convert unsuspecting young men to their way of life. Third, that Viganò has an alarming number of enemies--real or imagined--among the Catholic hierarchy. He goes so far as to condemn what he calls a "deviant wing" of the Society of Jesus. I was educated by Jesuits, and they instilled in me a love of reason and faith in the Catholic Church. I will pray tonight that Pope Francis will go further in bringing healing to the victims of predatory priests and that he will be vindicated from the hysterical, self-serving conspiracy theories of his political enemies.
20
Power corrupts...and, absolute power corrupts absolutely.
It is time to turn to Church into a democracy. Let us, the parishioners, vote for who will be our priest/cardinal/bishop/archbishop/Pope, and give us the power to vote them out of office.
2
Anyone who takes the time to actually read the entire 11-page letter by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò will see there are serious claims made by him that he says can be proved by existing documents. Other than that, it appears to me that early in his pontificate he allowed Cardinal McCarrick to put words in his mouth and set policies that – considering what we ALL know about McCarrick now – would only be approved by a moral degenerate. I've liked Francis for his veneer of humility over the years, but I'm afraid the man, by allowing McCarrick to push his election as pope, has got into a deep part of the corrupt Vatican pool where he is in WAY over his head. And quite frankly, I don't think he knows what the devil he's doing in this area. He'll be out sooner than we might expect. This is one fight he cannot wage.
2
Vigala is a snake who tricked Pope Francis into a meeting with the clerk in Kentucky who would give give marriage licenses to gay couples. He has a cabal of conservatives who are more interested in their own privileges. He deliberately attacked the pope to embarrass him during his visit to Ireland. If he wanted to release his accusations, he could have done it earlier. The pope wise to take his meals in a communal setting.
18
@sunset patty
Sorry - that should be would NOT give marriage licenses.
2
When I first read this my first thought was - Wow, this is one of the most egregious political moves I've ever seen. Conservative Catholicism is what's wrong with the church and always has been. What a cynical blatant power move this is. It clearly points out what the progressive side of the church, represented by Pope Francis, is up against. For all those who think the Pope is not moving fast enough - this is why.
That said, one of my questions re the pedophilia scandal is what did lay people and parents know? I find it hard to believe that such a widespread longstanding practice was covered up by the clergy alone. In the scandals relating to sports coaches many kids told their parents or counselors but were ignored. It's not just the clergy that should be bearing the shame and blame for this abuse, it is the laity and parents who knew and said nothing as well.
12
@Gwen Vilen I don’t understand how parents of young children who had been raped and sodomized and injured could not have noticed the injuries, or heard their children’s cries when the returned home. I think that the parents have a lot to answer for. Years ago, a woman told me that her son had been abused by a priest who had repeatedly taken her son alone on camping trips. How could parents have been so dumb?
5
This is truly a "Hail Mary" pass, thrown by the reactionaries who have seen the Catholic church slip away from their grasp, with amazing speed, since the election of Francis. It will fail. They have already lost whatever credibility they have, and they will not restore their reputation with a sinister plot.
The one card that the reactionaries hold is the threat of a schism. The church always fears this, both because of the possible loss of constituents, and because of the potential for the sacraments to be dispensed by "heretics." I hope that Francis will let them immolate themselves, and that he is not so attached to the institutional church as to keep him from dismissing all the molesters and all the reactionaries in one fell swoop.
Perhaps that is too much to ask, even of a Jesuit; but anything less definitive will result in the demise of the whole institutional structure, eventually leading to a smaller, cleaner church emerging from the ashes of the Vatican. In that case, I would hope that they can save all the artwork.
5
Good Heavens! A Trump in the Vatican. And I do not mean the Pope who is Christ Like in that he goes around being Loving, Compassionate, fiercely truthful sort of like Jesus. Of course there would be a lurker group wanting to crucify him.
7
Viganó is a right wing extremist who blames the various sex scandals on 'homosexuality', neatly ignoring the majority of heterosexual rapists who, at every level of the church's hierarchy (or should we say, patriarchy), have all but destroyed the church's moral authority around the world.
Francis knows this, and is dealing with it. But nothing short of a wholesale change in the way the church makes white-male-privilege the default status of authority will begin to solve the many problems besetting the modern church.
Viganó is typical of the old school. Dominant, privileged, misogynist, bullying, it is he and his ilk who are the true progenitors of the terrible sins committed by powerful men against the weak, the poor and the voiceless in the church.
16
It is shameful that an Archbishop would use the sex abuse scandal as a tool for undercutting a political rival within the Catholic Church, in this case Pope Francis. Carlo Maria Viganò is a right-wing zealot who sees a crack in the Pope's public image and is attempting to widen that into a fatal fissure because he opposes the Pope's efforts to make the Church more socially responsible, a disagreement on issues that have nothing to do with the scandal that Vigano has seized upon. The coordinated effort of right-wing Catholic publications, including the Matthew Schmitz op-ed in the NYT, show the concerted attempt to undercut a progressive Pontiff by going straight for the perceived jugular rather than discussing the issues on which they actually disagree with him. This is the Trump wing of the Catholic hierarchy using tactics that Viganò likely learned from meetings or conversations with the likes of Steve Bannon, undoubtedly one of the behind-the-scenes architects of this effort. Shame on you Carlo Maria Viganò and anyone else within the Church who tries to use the horror of clergy sexual abuse as the tool to turn back the Pope's efforts to pull the Church's entrenched hierarchy into the 21st century where most of the faithful already live.
10
Is this part of the script for an upcoming Godfather, part IV?
Huge money, gold, jewels, palatial estates, priceless art, illicit/illegal sex, this is all part of life at the Vatican and the life of your local Bishop/Cardinal/Archbishop/Pope.
This memo an attempted coup in Rome while the titular head is out of the country. Classic power grab attempt.
Pox on all the internal Vatican cliques...this includes those who have protected pedophiles as well as all the other priests who just looked the other way.
The Church is too rotten to repair, unless we demand that every single priest/bishop/archbishop/cardinal/Pope tender their resignation and then we Catholics can have free and open elections.
But, they are too wealthy to let us vote, no one lets go of so much money and power without a battle....so, we will begin to see unprecedented instability at the Vatican as they fight over a smaller Church, but full of all the centuries of rich spoils.
4
Viganò is a despicable hypocrite. He allowed the coverup to continue. Now he is exploiting the child rape crisis for his own political reasons. He misplayed his hand as this shows how rotten to the core the entire leadership is.
13
Pope Francis is of course the solution to the fierce sins against children in the church, while Vigano and allies are determined to ruin Francis and gain control of the church for themselves. Francis is returning the church to ordinary devoted Catholics. I hold him in my prayers.
14
Are conservative catholic leaders trying to blame just the pope who is trying hardest to clean up the church? Why are they using this critical time to just attach the pope to get their power back? Who is blaming who? I think Pope Francis knows that what needs to be done, and is trying very hard to do so. But the corrupted church leaders all over the church may be afraid and are not leading the clean up. It is extremely important time for Catholic church and faith. I am a catholic, and I would like this crime to be wiped-out and completely removed. The church needs to be cleaned up. This is not a time for church politics for power struggle. All catholics needs to work together to do what is right thing to do.
7
I view today's church as a cult that has had millions (people & money) in its grip for far too long. My biggest regret is that I drank the kool-aid far too long.
5
Vigano's little tirade reminds me of an LBJ story. Johnson told a buddy that he was going to spread the rumor that his opponent in a Texas election was having sex with pigs [4-legged presumedly]. The buddy asked Johnson how he was going to prove the accusation. Johnson paused, then supposedly said, " I don't have to prove he did. He has to prove he didn't". The first Latin American Pope, somewhat progressive and a socialist to boot, is in the position of Johnson's target.
7
If you ever find yourself wondering how pure evil manages to flourish, you need look no further than this comments section for a perfect example. On the grounds that “the conservatives are worse,” supposedly liberal Catholics are defending a pope who, very likely, is guilty of participating in the very problem that he is vowing to stop. Words can’t express how disgraceful this is.
4
@Raul Campos The pope lost his right to the benefit of the doubt when he lashed out at abuse victims for accusing a bishop of shielding their abuser. Even if he is completely innocent of the charges that the archbishop has leveled against him (and I think that, in your hearts of your hearts, you know that that probably isn’t the case), he is a disgrace. Moreover, the liberal Catholics about whom I was speaking in my comment are not basing their defense of Francis on the supposed falsity of the accusations; they are basing it on the idea that, even if the accusations are true, Francis is somehow a force for good who must be defended at all costs. That is, indeed, disgraceful.
2
@Ashley I think you meant to say “heart of hearts.” Otherwise, great comment.
I was born, raised, and educated Roman Catholic. I'm lapsed and have been for many years. My belief is this: Christ's message if clear. The men who took over His church corrupted it for their purposes. If Francis resigns, the Cardinals, many of whom are overtly or covertly corrupt, vote in another Pope! The high-ranking Cardinals and priests within the Vatican are complicit and should be expelled. This has to be a top-down reorganization! And the most important change is to stop the celibacy requirement and allow priests to marry. At the same time, anyone entering the priesthood should undergo intense psychological testing, background checks, and a 5 year probationary period before becoming "official".
4
Decades, yes decades, of corruption and abuse.
They ignored the systematic sexual assault of children.
For what? The glory of their imaginary friend? No. Power and money. The whole house of cards hinges on this.
“Denial” is pervasive in Catholicism and Christianity: denial of rational thought.
1
People dismissing Vigano out of hand reminds me of Trump dismissing Comey because he doesn't fit in his world view and doesn't like his message. But all that is irrelevant to whether what he says is true. Yes, Vigano's views on homosexuality are way off the mark, and yes he has his own politics. But, he claims that all of his accusations are confirmed in documents at the nunciature in Washington and in the Vatican archives. In time the paper trail will prove or disprove these accusations. He provides prominent names and dates and this all seems quite plausible and not at all a stretch. The fact that he claims McCarrick's actions were well known in the Vatican for at least 18 years and covered up by his superiors has the ring of truth, just gotta say. And testimonials to his reliability as a witness are just starting to come out. For example "The nuncio Vigano is the most honest Prelate that I know in the Vatican...now believe what you want, but I can tell you as being the direct witness that Vigano is telling the truth..." from Msgr. Jean-Francois Lantheaume, former first counsellor at the apostolic nunciature in Washington, D.C. You may not like the accuser, speculate to your heart's desire on motive, but ultimately the truth will come out. Personally, I think it's time to clear the lot out, including the current pope.
3
@James
Yes, and guess who else was in the Vatican at that time and worked closely for Benedict. Vagarò. He did nothing when it was politically expedient for him. Now he uses what he knows when he thinks it’s politically expedient for him and his right wing conservatives. There is also documented evidence he too intervened on behalf of a guilty clergyman. He has no moral high ground.
Vagarò, if successful, will expel homosexual priests though the problem lies with pedophile priests. He and his ilk will claim the problem is solved and children will continue to be abused.
2
V's position on homosexuality, among the clergy or laity, is in line with the church's teaching, made abundantly clear by Benedict and John Paul, who were by no means innovators on the fundamentals of this issue. I believe that teaching is false, misguided, and deeply repugnant. So on that you and I agree, I think. While that may be relevant to his motive, it is has no bearing on the accusations or their validity. Whether V can claim moral credibility, or more to the point, whether F can, are both highly questionable at best. Let's be honest, facts will prove this out one way or the other. I am not confident F can survive the test, nor am I confident that he should.
1
NPR reported this morning that Carlo Maria Viganò covered up for a bishop in MN. People who live in glass houses should not throw stones.
11
Just because the opinions of archbishops and cardinals are being quoted instead of far-right American politicians, doesn't mean they're not connected to the far-right somewhere in this increasingly backward-headed world. Pope Francis said recently regarding homosexuality: "God made you like this". That statement wasn't close to being what the Catholic LGBTQ community would like to hear in support, but it was this Pope's honest start. No wonder his far-right detractors want him to resign.
8
The arch conservative wing of the Catholic Church will try anything to stop this Pope from encouraging a more compassionate and Christ centered church. Can you imagine the reaction if progressive Bishops pulled this stunt with JPII.
4
Today we also read of abuse by nuns for years in Vermont! It's time to clean house including the Pope if he covered up illegal activity. How can anyone have respect for the Catholic Church as it now stands?
5
The letter by Carlo Vigano may well be true--probably no way to verify it completely. But his motivation, together with many other conservatives, is to undermine Francis, a basically good Jesuit who is trying to figure out what comes next.
Increasingly, the historian in me tells me that it feels like the sixteenth century when Martin Luther was getting ready to nail his letters on the church doors. The corruption in the church's bureaucracy has reached a critical point that major change is the only way for such a large organization to move forward with credibility. Apologies and healing masses have run their course. Ah, but what change would that be? Married priests, meaning inclusion of women in a notorious patriarchy, transparency, etc.
Some signals have to be made soon or the church will lose even more social and human capital. The church really could splinter into national or regional alliances of some sort.
3
Francis is sounding more and more like pre-Oprah Lance.
4
"Who am I to judge?"
----- Pope Francis
Who are you to lead?
12
While Vigano's claims might well be true. He and the other Church conservatives will be the death of the Church which is already deeply wounded. Among other unacceptable ideas they have is that priests or nuns should not marry and women cannot be priests. As Gandi said he would have been a Christian if it were not for the Christians. The Church conservatives are the ipitome of Gandis remark.
6
@Al Galli Yeah, they’ll be the death of the Church. The stunning hypocrisy and wickedness that pervades the Church, of which Pope Francis appears to be guilty, will not. Just the conservatives. Got it.
1
Vigano's bald faced grab at power is sickening.
Using this sex abuse tragedy to advance his own conservative, internal political objectives is disturbing on many levels.
I pray Francis prevails and moves in a deliberate thoughtful way to rid the hierarchy of people like VIgano as well as McCarrick.
10
It would be more useful for you to pray that Francis actually does something about the child abusers in the RCC, instead of paying lip-service and shedding crocodile tears.
1
This sickness within the Church caused Benedict to resign. Now Francis has inherited it. There are those who in the name of supporting Francis’s reforms and hitting back at his conservative opposition within the Church would cut him some slack, but this evil has been going on for centuries. Extraordinary measures must be taken to root out the cancer. When if not now?
6
Silence is not an acceptable plan for mission failure accomplished.
The church has never been good at correcting its errors. More than 350 years after condeming Galileo Galilei the Catholic church, in 1992 after 13 years of investigative commitee, reversed course and stated that it now knew Galileo Galilei was right and the Copernican system he supported is correct.
On the local level I have witnessed a enormously popular and charasmatic young Catholic priest being forced to resign for failure to honor his oath of celibacy (he had a girl friend) while seeing known child abusing priests being moved around for 10 or more years.
Maybe in another thousand or so years the Catholic church will see right on this structural failure they themselves promulgate.
1
Many biases of the Times are obvious as are the motives.
But this Times willingness to be town crier for American right wing catholic politics baffles me.
It’s headlines and it’s cover screen summary of the charges and of the Pope’s response to the charges are completely misleading and exactly what the propagandists of the American right wing politicians want.
It is obvious to anyone who reads without bias on the issue that for right wing Catholics—who loved Pope Benedict for his right wing politics, his support of their politics and cover ups, and retired with a young man to keep him company—to attack Pope Francis, who they hate and have been in active rebellion against with Times Frontman Douthat carrying their water for no reason known to man, for high church abuse cover ups,
Is crazy and dishonest
Yet that is what the Times aids and abets.
Francis refused to answer the charges and insisted the press do its job. On their face they don’t add up. Even casual reader me can see that.
Perhaps the Times is proudly defying the Pope by refusing to do its job.
Perhaps it’s identity politic geniuses are proving they are boss of everyone by helping bring Francis into civil war and teaching him not to oppose open homosexuality. Great. Have fun with those gay hating right wing catholic fascists, many closeted, running the show.
8
So... What is a possible scenario where real change might occur?
This is not just about accountability for wrongdoers and caring for victims. Those both must occur, but after all that is said and done, we can't go back to "business as usual" with everything being done as it is now. There has to be change or this moment and all of the pain associated with it is meaningless.
The problem has two dimensions, first it has to do with sexuality and with church governance and the role of the laity.
The issue of sexuality may tear the church apart. If there is a big movement to purge all same-sex attracted men and women, it will get very ugly. That might happen, but I hope not and the initial focus should be upon governance.
The church is a medieval absolute monarchy. The pope is the king with absolute, divinely ordained, lifetime power. He creates cardinals and bishops who are "lords." Hand selected and given powers over fiefdoms. The bishops make priests, who do their local bidding and are loyal to the bishops, like "knights" of old. The laity are peasants.
So the current system of governance is outdated, highly flawed, and, as we have seen, corrupt and not caring enough for the peasants (us). So what do we do about it?
To start, all bishops, cardinals, and Pope Francis, would resign effective upon the appointment of their successor.
With change in church governance, then we can more effectively deal with all the many issues - sexuality, role of women, financial mess etc etc!
2
The Catholic Church will not change until it is forced to. This will not happen until those responsible are prosecuted and jailed.
4
The Church will not survive the rule of a conservative wing. It is that mindset that supported the horrors and illegality exposed once again in the Pennsylvania investigation. The Church should be dissolved, and a new start made, but closer in philosophy to Pope Francis.
2
Verbally sidestepping any comment on the letter simply actively places the Vatican's own Imprimatur on the criminal acts alluded to in the letter, in effect dodging any serious policy remedies. The evidence speaks for itself now as in the church's historical secret defense and protection of pedophilia. As a gay man, I am revolted by this sexual abuse mafia curia within the Vatican.
3
It sounds to me like Archbishop Vigano is looking to replace Pope Francis.
If the Conservatives in the Vatican and elsewhere around the World actually believe that Pope Francis is bad for the Catholic Church they are fooling themselves.
The Conservatives are the problem with the Catholic Church.
Every step along the way they have voted against allowing Birth Control when most Catholics need or want it.
They have voted against gay marriage.
They have hidden the sex predators themselves.
They have sold churches and schools to provide hush money despite the fact that parish participants paid for them/ The very least they could have done with these properties was to use them for housing for the poor or some other good moral purpose.
Pope Francis has been fighting an up hill battle to bring more inclusiveness to the church. He has broken the scandal of corruption at the Vatican Church.
He will make progress with all of what the Faithful need and want.
Archbishop Vigano and his followers are going to ruin the Catholic Church and weaken it even more.
9
Remember when these crimes were portrayed as the fantasies of conspiracy nuts? When articles claimed there was no way such a criminal network could exist across continents and stay hidden with so many participants? That people who claimed such crimes had been committed were right up there with those who claimed to have seen Bigfoot or believed aliens were hidden at Area 51?
The fact that most of these sex offenders were allowed to pass away or remain free makes me wonder how deep and far reaching this criminal activity extends. Has the church been protected because of what it knows? There have been numerous agencies and institutions across various continents that helped to keep this hidden for so long. They also colluded in silencing and denigrating victims who tried to speak up. The depth of this cover up is truly frightening. Maybe Bigfoot is real.
Let them rip each other apart and rat on each other as their criminal enterprise falls apart. They all have dirty hands.
5
But would Carlo Maria Viganò, have done differently? No, I thought not.
3
It is a shame that such an important newspaper gives so much importance to a person whose sole purpose is to attack the Holy Father. The problem of the pedophile in the Catholic Church is above all an historical fact that concerns the Anglo-Saxon churches and that can not be borne solely by the current Pontiff.
4
True Vigano wants Francis out because he is too liberal but the facts remain that Francis allowed McCarrick back on the stage after learning of his past. The problem seems to be that it's ok if a Cardinal is an active gay man in relationships with adults but McCarrick also groomed and abused kids. This will be a disaster for Pope Francis. No easy way out of this.
6
Vigano's remarks on an alleged global homosexual conspiracy could have been lifted straight from the Protocols of the Elders of Zion - just change "jew" to "gay." It is absolutely disgusting. It also says something about the man's character and is likely the reason Fancis fired him as Papal Nuncio to the U.S. - that and Vigano's gross incompetence and insubordination. He is the quintessential case of a "disgruntled ex-employee" and is hardly a credible source for anything.
McCarrick resigned as Ab. of Washington DC in 2006. Francis didn't become Pope until 2013. Enough said. The truth that Vigano would rather ignore is that it was "St." John Paul II that made McCarrick a Bishop, then Ab. of Washington DC, and finally a Cardinal. It was "St." John Paul II who kept promoting McCarrick in spite of his scandalous behavior and the hush money paid to his victims.
The "buck" stops at the Apostolic Palace. As Pope, Francis is responsible for the criminal negligence of his predecessors. He is not, however, personally responsible. That belongs properly to "St." John Paul II. It was a mistake for Francis to have allowed John Paul II to be canonized. The sex abuse crisis and cover-up happened on his watch and likely with his connivance.
16
CNN has announced Missouri is investigating into priest sex abuse. They will hold "folks" accountable!
2
Pope promises to not say "one word," recalling to you mind a term with two words.
2
From what I am reading in the article (and after doing a little additional research on my own), this smacks of a "disgruntled employee" (Vigano) "getting back" at his employer. And given that it seems that Vigano is, in fact, guilty of the same behavior, I would have to agree with those who suggest that this is some sort of "payback." And this does not even get to the whole "homosexual cabal" belief, which is about as retrograde and self-serving as anything I have heard.
3
Opus Dei will resort to anything to remove and discredit this Pope. Aside from Francis being too compassionate for the fundamentalists, you have to wonder what a full frontal assault on pedophiles by Francis would do to the fundamentalist ranks.
10
To constantly see pictures of grown men faking to be holier than the next one over but knowing that they are sexual criminals focusing on kids is the sickest thing. Stop all this garbage and get rid of that pope - he is the leader of it all.
3
This sad episode underscores how lonely it is at the top. If you really want the Catholic church to do something about the rampant sex abuse, you cannot yell at the only man that could do something about it (let's take a look at the alternatives). You have to help him out and join him. His hands are tied, and he cannot do it by himself. If there was any doubt before, Vigano's rant has erased it.
4
I just watched the Video and believe the Pope. in 2013 he was just getting started in 2013 and the Conservative Branch such as Opus Dei have been getting more and more impatient with him because he puts poverty above Abortion. This is clearly an effort to discredit the Pope and it wont work. I wish he could fire all of them; however, he is not as powerful as we think and up against a strong contingent of Conservatives who for the most part are complicit in the whole matter of sexual abuse. I implore people not to donate to our Church until it straightens itself out and the complicit Bishops are removed from Office.
5
If this was happening in a multinational corporation like Microsoft or Toyota, the world would be screaming it's outrage and demanding everyone in authority be criminally punished. We can'e be afraid that God will punish us in the afterlife for punishing the highest clerics in the church.
1
Unsubstantiated? Archbishop Vigano allegations are detailed and specific. He names names and specifies places and dates. Already one of the witnesses he cites, Monsignor Jean-François Lantheaume, has publicly confirmed his part of the story.
8
I believe that the institution of the Roman Catholic Church is not what Jesus had in mind.
If you want to know more about the sins of the Catholic Church here in America be sure to watch "The Keepers" available on Netflix.
It is a "boys club" that is insincere, dishonest, and covers themselves with denial, withholding evidence , and when cornered, throwing money at Church victims of predator priests after legal statutes of limitations have expired. Money appears to be the most important element of the Catholic Church. Withhold monetary donations to the Roman Catholic Church. Practice the teachings of Jesus who threw out the money lenders.
6
Viganò’s motives are not of importance. The man is a disgrace, a venomous homophobe – but that is not what is important.
He should be asked to supply documentation supporting his accusations. If that is obtained and verified: The FBI should open an investigation into the Pope’s role in concealing these hideous crimes.
And, if that investigation produces the determination that the Pope so conspired: Issue an indictment.
Of course, any request for extradition will be ignored. But, should the pontiff ever set foot on US soil, he could be taken into custody.
Drastic? Yes. But the church’s continuing concealment of these crimes against children – indeed, enabling them by transferring offenders from parish to parish, knowing they will continue abusing those in their pastoral care – must be brought to a full stop.
Yes, I’m dreaming. Cardinal Law was permitted to leave without legal hindrance, and was rewarded with a luxurious retirement by the church. The chances of our having the grit to address this head on – literally, at the head of what is clearly a criminal conspiracy trafficking in children for sex – are about nil.
2
These are the same holier-than-thou Roman Catholics whom the Republicans want to give a 6/9 majority on the US Supreme Court.
All of the Trump Republicans and two-faced Evangelicals want to install 6 of the 9 Supreme Court Justices as Roman Catholics! That's a super majority of 66%!
The United States was founded on the principals of keeping religion out of politics. Most people believe in providing contraception and allowing a woman to chose whether or not to terminate a pregnancy. We can argue about when terminating a pregnancy becomes murder.
But the Roman Catholic faith teaches that all contraception is sinful, and the all abortion - even to save the life of the mother - is evil and a high crime.
We must not allow Super Right Wing gun-loving abortion-and-contraception-forbidding narrow minded super conservative right wing Brian Kavanaugh be appointed to the Supreme Court! All Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowsky and ask them to vote against this narrow minded, corrupt political man, Brian Kavanaugh. He was George Bush's right hand man during some of George's worst decisions in the history of the United States (e.g. invading Iraq). Kavanaugh will do irreparable harm to the air, water, jobs, and earth of the United States. His appointment will be illegal because Donald J. Trump gained the presidency through conspiracy with Russia! Wake up, America!
3
@San Francisco Voter...Where did you learn to count?
Why do I get the impression that the at the very core of the Vatican is corruption and not faith?
3
The truth will prevail on the side of Pope Francis. Carlo Vigano appears to be disgruntled and deceptive. Stay tuned and informed!
5
Sounds like sour grapes on the part of Vigano ; instigating a coup against the Pope . He sounds like he would take the church back to Torquemada ; hypocrisy on the part of this wolf in sheep's clothing who lusts for power . The scandal of abuse is merely an opening and he is taking advantage . Francis must not resign , but weather the storm and be allowed to work to right all the wrongs done . Either way , the Catholic Church has to make changes , sorry but gay priests should not be part of the clergy and in a position to be tempted to abuse the young . Power under the guise of spiritual advisor attracts predators whether gay or straight . Francis is being held responsible for the sins of the fathers ; as the head of the church he needs to stay and reform a church wracked by years and centuries of scandal and moral turpitude .
3
Please correct me if I’m wrong, but if this Cardinal Viganò knows that the pope was aware of this abuse for as long as he says, doesn’t that imply that he must have also been aware himself of those abuses? So why didn’t he himself speak up sooner? Doesn’t make sense to me that this man is not equally culpable
7
Pope Francis is the most progressive pontiff in ages. He's been leading by example in focus on core values like service and humility, and he's made pronouncements toward aligning the Church with the realities of the modern world.
Naturally, there will be reactionaries who don't like any of it one little bit.
Beware bad-faith objections and scrutinize the motivations of detractors.
5
It is astonishing that so many commenters here dismiss Vigano's accusations outright because they don't like his conservative stance. I completely disagree with his assessment that the root of the pedophilia problem is homosexuality. Nevertheless, his accusations of cover up from the top, including Francis, are very serious and, sorry to say, pass the smell test. Francis really does need to resign if this can be proven to be true. i believe it will be, but time will tell.
5
I think this is the end of the Catholic Church as we know it. All those robes and rituals and terrifying secrets.
2
Pope Francis has been a positive change for the Catholic Church. I like Pope Francis. However, he still has to safeguard the image of the church and protect the church's mass wealth and legacy.
I find it disturbing that the Catholic Church (and other religious institutions) hoards their wealth when there are so many people in dire need of help. I seriously doubt God is impressed with the works of art hanging on the walls of the Vatican, but wealth and power is everything to the Catholic Church. They hoard far more then they share.
Church's in general are ran by men who are greedy, vain, competitive and self important.
3
Even though we have all known about this for years, nothing substantial has actually happened to fix the problem that is probably centuries old. It seems amazing to me that anyone bothers to seriously discuss the issue since the Church apparently doesn't want to move forward. There's lots of decrying and finger-pointing, but then it ends. This organization has outlived its usefulness.
5
I believe the claims come from an extremely conservative part of the Vatican that is upset by Francis's liberal message of love. The hierarchy is out to get him. What's going on this world?
12
Can we just have both of them gone?
Like every Pope before him, Francis knew, and only takes action where inaction would hurt the power of the church - and I'm sad to learn that - I'd hoped otherwise for a little while.
But Vigano - he's just another of the ones who wants to try to turn this into a homosexuality issue, ignoring the fact that it's about pedophilia, paraphilia, and rape. He'd like to ignore the female victims, and the issues of rape.
This isn't a scandal about consensual sexual relationships with priests - it's about the nonconsensual ones.
7
This Archbishop is in league with the likes of Dolan, Chaput and Bannon, all of whom believe Pope Francis is too liberal. He is a disgrace as are the others in Opus Dei. I only pray that the Justice System investigates every Bishop and Cardinal in our Country. They all knew something and did nothing.
8
Robert Muellar should investigate!
4
Godfather III.
1
Hey hey! Ho ho!
The seal of confession when it relates to crimes against minor children has got to go!
1
Hey, Go see Doubt! Rent it on Netflix. Then take a darn good look at Church history especially a good look at the popes. If you want to believe in Christ, then get a Bible. Read the words in red.....as spoken by Jesus. This is all you need. The end!
2
Nearly all the archbishops and cardinals named here are reactionaries with axes to grind against much needed reform that Francis is pushing. I just read a follow up NYT's opinion piece written by Matthew Schmitz, the editor of First Things, a neoconservative theology/philosophy journal (no comments permitted). He calls for Pope Francis to resign if the "charges" are true, and then goes on to pin the church's corruption and sex-abuse scandal on tolerance of homosexuality within and without the church! My God - these were predatory pedophile priests aided by corrupt bishops. There is no link between pedophila and homosexuality.
107
@Mario
Of course there is no link but deflection and claiming ignorance are old tactics. Blaming gay people for _____(take your pick) has been good business for religious organizations. Which is why I still do not understand why so many gay people continue to support organized religions.
2
I see that, but in the very specific case of Cardinal McCarrick, he appears to have been a predator, but it seems that he may have targeted seminarians, who are not children. Nonetheless, the Church MUST report any unwanted sexual predatory behavior to the cops/civilian authorities. That is my position.
It appears ??that McCarrick's
advances may have been taken rather lightly for years...although widely known. This is NOT acceptable at all in my opinion. Certainly it appears that there have also been severe lapses on reporting pedophile priests too, as per the horrific PA grand jury report. The Church simply MUST involve civil authorities in ALL of these matters.
.
1
@Mario, you hit the nail on the head.
1
In secular and church hierarchies and cultures, there are leaders who disseminate information and authoritarians who say "do as I say." The Roman Catholic Church and its laity operated in Ireland and among many Irish Catholics here, as authoritarians focused on who gets blamed for which sins. Where any religion is dominant, even secular institutions are peopled by authoritarians. Most religions are gender-biased and anti-homosexual. A judgmental conservative priest from my parents' parish is known to have opposed priests suspected of seeking out boys and yet, it was this same priest who told me when I was an 11 year old sexual predation victim that sometimes girls have to suffer like Christ so boys can keep clean records and support families. The church covers up for the actions of its favored members by silencing and demolishing the lives of their victims.. There much good information available for anyone who wants to heal physically, mentally, and spiritually, but no one is going to get it from authoritarian, moralistic hierarchies. Few churches, including the non-denominational so-called Christian churches, are going to lead their flocks to this information because fear of authority keeps people in the seats and contributing the money that allows the "you need us for salvation" business model to work. There are many books in the library. For Catholics, I recommend "God's Bankers" and "Whistle:" the story of Father Tom Doyle.
3
Begone, ALL of them.
Let us turn to reality. Above all, the science that reveals what we are starting in self-driving processes of positive feedback that will change conditions of life on Earth and erase our human civilization and species.
2
This is a critical time in the life of the Catholic Church. I believe that Francis knows that, and that he wants to be very careful about how he proceeds. I am referring of course to the sexual abuse and coverup within the church.
For a travesty such as this, I believe that we have to consider the deeper convictions that the church now rests on. There is a serious split in how the church sees itself. Francis faces mighty opposition to his view and his practice of the Faith. That opposition rests on control, secrecy, domination, and false witness about Jesus' teaching. Until Francis can gather the political strength to fully assert his way of thinking, the church is on very rocky ground. I believe we should give Francis some space to work this out. Furthermore I feel that the New York Times report on the letter about the church's awareness of the sex abuse problem does not do justice to the reality of the church's identity problem.
19
@Dave R.
You think we need to give Pope Francis time to work this out?
You realize that he's been aware of this for a very long time, it was a scandal before he was appointed, he met with sexual abuse groups, he's spoken about it, lots of big words, far less action.
At what point do you decide that time is up?
4
@Dave R. I must disagree that care and caution are the right steps. Procrastination, half hearted statements of regret, have done nothing to fix the institutional problem. Bold moves are required. Think of FDR when he became president and his bold actions and do the same.
@Dave R. Give him "space" to work this out, he's already had 5 years!
1
Vigano is a villain, simple as that. Francis is my Pope and I treasure his wisdom and leadership.
4
@Nancy
Vigano is a villain - but that doesn't mean Francis is in the right. Both of them can be wrong - one for trying to pin this on homosexuality, the other for allowing those who did the cover ups and had scandals to continue to gain prestige and power in the church.
8
What this looks like to me is too perfect a wave not to be politicize by those who like to throw the liberal pope out on his humble petard. Were Pope Francis a conservative pontiff you may be certain that any calls for his "resignation" would be those of the truly bereaved, and not the machinations of the hypocritical.
1
we need an article in the NYT Health section about Homosexuality and Pedophilia to help readers understand the dynamics at work here. Both straight and gay men commit pedophilia, while both straight and gay men who are sexually mature never do.
We also have cases of unwanted harassment of adult straight seminarians by homosexual peers. And as Richard Sipe research showed, we also have heterosexual liaisons between priests and women.
To complicate this mix, we put all of these men at different levels and stages of sexual maturity (quite apart from those who have a pathology) into a celibate straight jacket--and in addition require them to preach about the sanctity of straight heterosexual marriage. The disconnect between thought and word, and thought and action here is enough to create a fundamental neurosis ( and maybe even psychosis) among a population of men who are required to live a life at complete odds with their private urges.
No wonder a subculture of pedophilia or predatory homosexuality flourishes----- the targets may be children in one instance, and adults in the other-- but in either case we have unwanted sexual harassment which the #MeToo movement is supposed to address-- except that, sadly, we have no movement for the protection of young children who also lack voice to make their plight public.
We need safe space for everyone-men women children- to live free from harassment, whether at work, play or study.
2
Maybe the Catholic church and the pope need to do something else besides apologizing for years. They should stop hiding behind their pomposity and dogma and do something about this stain on their existence.
38
@Bethed Don't you think Francis would do more if he could? He is hampered by Conservative Cardinals and Bishops like Dolan and Chaput. I wish the Media would do an Expose on the latter two.
4
The Pope had never heard of the mother-baby homes in Ireland? Unbelievable. He should read the NYT more often.
7
Of course Vigano is playing politics and settling some scores here. It doesn't mean the facts in his letter are wrong.
Pope Francis may be theologically liberal, but his record on responding to abuse is shockingly poor. Maradiaga and Pineda in Honduras, Barros in Chile, Daneels in Belgium, McCarrick and Wuerl in the USA, Boyce in Donegal Ireland (reported in the NYT just two days ago), Don Mauro Inzoli in Italy... Pope Francis seems to have a habit of protecting abusive priests and the bishops who've covered up for them, especially if those bishops are on the same side of the ideological spectrum as he is. This is a habit of his. It doesn't appear to be a single mistake.
So yes, I believe that Vigano's letter is mostly true and I do believe Pope Francis knew about the allegations surrounding McCarrick. (Various US journalists indicated that they knew about McCarrick for years or even a couple decades; it defies belief to insist that the pope didn't know about one of the highest-profile cardinals.) And I believe there's more out there that we haven't even begun to hear about, especially involving financial misdoings.
I'm a Catholic who's currently very angry with the hierarchy. I actually believe most of what the Catholic Church teaches... but then I see the hierarchy acting like they don't believe any of it.
4
In spite of his many failings, Francis is clearly one of the better Popes. Jean Paul ll must bear major responsibility for years of ignoring clerical abuse of children.
2
If the Pope knowingly covered for sexual abusers, there can be no defense, and justifying exceptions because one doesn't like the accuser is hypocritical. If your friend, or anybody you want to believe in is a problem, they are a problem.
5
The good cardinal couldn;t care less about the abuse. All he wants is bringing down the pope, and back to the business as usual.
The Vatican hierarchy feel threatened (justifiably so) by a reformist and populist pope. The letter simply shows that, as far as they are concerned, the end justifies the means.
4
The hierarchy of the Roman Catholic is as divided as is the United States political scene. I remember asking my Monsignor friend over 25 years ago if the Church was political, and he said it was. It was not nearly as political then as it is today. I wonder if there will be a schism within the Church. This will not be a good thing if this ever happens. I pray it does not.
1
Just so people can make up their own minds regarding Archbishop Viganò and perhaps his own "agenda" in attempting to denounce Pope Francis, here is a link that may helpful:
https://cruxnow.com/church/2016/04/12/pope-replaces-vigano-controversial...
Archbishop Viganò may want to look within himself and his motives instead of attempting to cast stones at Pope Francis.
2
Exactly!
1
Pope Francis is a man of his age and time. I think he only slowly adapts to the abuse crisis within the Roman Catholic Church.
That said, I suspect he has begun to realize much more than many of his fellow hierarchs the fact that this crisis goes right at, and indeed into, the very core of the church itself, its principles and foundations as expressed in Jesus Christ’s Gospel. It demands “Radical Re-Founding” (not only Re-Formation), from The Root Up.
The structures which constitute the present church are being crushed to smithereens (New Testament, Acts 27.27 etc).
A papal resignation, as demanded by archbishop Vigano (himself product and representative of this dying clerical culture and structure), is not going to keep things from falling apart.
In Acts, all travelers survive the wreck and reach land alive and safe. Paul goes on to Rome. There he rents a small apartment and earns his own living, while preaching the Gospel and engaging with the issues the local faith community faces within the context of the capital of the Roman Empire - whilst not succumbing to its alluring games of power.
Yet history shows that this is exactly what happened: the Bishop of Rome becomes Emperor himself, successor to the Emperors of yore as “Pontifex Maximus” - and thus, the Roman Church becomes Empire.
Its foundations are now ruthlessly being pulled from under it, through its very own doing.
Empire crumbling down is the Community of Faith's only chance to survive.
It will.
2
There is no doubt that Pope Frances is guilty as charged as were the last two Popes. They all had public friendships with known abusers. While the Pope was the Archbishop of Buenos Aries he tried to protect a priest convicted in court by trying to discredit the victims. He attacked the victims in Chile with vicious language last January.
But, Archbishop Viganò is also guilty. Even though he was a Nuncio rather than pastor of a diocese, there is no way that he didn't know what was going on with the abusers. Priests were moved from country to country. He chose to speak up now because conservative Catholics hate the present Pope. But their idol, Pope Benedict, also knew about the worldwide scourge of rape and failed to act.
4
The disgraceful behaviour exhibited by both the pope and his adversaries sounds the death knell for the Roman Catholic Church the world once knew.
As I see things as a former Catholic, this institution will probably fragment into a number of schisms, with autonomous branches of diverse tendencies (fundamentalist, traditonalist, reformed, progressive) being established. I cannot see how it will be possible to mend the pieces together, as Catholics with legitimate doubts about the moral integrity of Rome would never kowtow to an authoritarian pope trying to justify his traditionalist 'mission' out of an attempt to maintain church unity.
Let us not be complacent nor condescending towards other religions such as Islam also torn asunder by theological differences. History has demonstrated that Western Christianity is not immune to horrendous acts of violence and slaughter in the name of religious 'righteousness'. The Saudi Arabian flag is decorated with a conquering sabre, yet the very symbol of Christianity is a grisly instrument of execution.
Worthy of meditation.
1
A man who hates Pope Francis for making the church more humane is NOT a qualified source of protest.
5
Professor Neal K. Katyal , who was an acting solicitor general in the Obama administration, published a NYT op ed recently that described how the law treats conspiracies far more harshly than it does crimes by individuals. From his article: "when two people agree to commit a crime, it’s much worse for society than when a lone actor does." And: "conspiracy has always been a separate offense, punished independently without calibration to the underlying crime."
While he wrote the story in the context of the challenges now faced by the Administration, it would seem that the actions by the various bishops could be evaluated via those principles. If that is the case, Roman Catholic bishops should be conferring with outside counsel . . . .
2
Maybe, but the Archbishop is a stern revanchist who is widely known to posses an animus against this Pope whom he sees as unacceptably liberal. He has also had his portfolio as a Vatican diplomat narrowed, again, recently. I’d like to see his “facts” further vetted. Which is not to say Francis is in the clear, especially on the issue of sexual predators. He seems to have inherited some of the lethargy of his predecessors in implementing a rigorous zero-tolerance policy and has much more to accomplish with victims outreach, which must be systematic, thorough and institutionalized, not merely symbolic. Accepting liability (civil and criminal) and waiving the statute of limitations defense where appropriate would be positive steps.
1
This pathetic archbishop has obvious axes to grind.
The solution? That which is honorable and necessary: Pope resigns AND dissolves the Roman Catholic Church, a pervasively corrupt, irredeemable atavistic house of cards built on fairy tales. Start with revoking its tax-exempt status (and yes, that of all other religious entities).
The tough part: non-corruptly re-distributing its more than immense liquid wealth, and deciding who/what, collectively will be entrusted with preserving its priceless/irreplaceable art.
1
SECOND TIME POSTING THIS
This has nothing to do with priests abusing children and everything to do with conservative hypocrites attempting to get a mulligan on Francis's election.
Memo to hypocrites: you ain't fooling anyone and you ain't changing anything. Your hypocrisy is palpable, your numbers are small, and Francis (unlike Trump ) was elected without outside interference, voter suppression, or electoral tampering. Live with it, or better yet ....
6
I see Steve Bannon's fine hand in this, not that the Catholic Church doesn't need significant reform, but individuals like Vigano are throwbacks and are not interested n protection of children but want to remain in the dark ages where priests are all powerful and never questioned.
2
Respect women, respect their choices. Respect the LBGTQ community, they are God's children as well. Allow priests and nuns to marry and raise families. Let the church structure understand what it is like to have children, and why the abuse of children should never be tolerated. Then this former alter boy might come home from my self exile from the Catholic Church.
4
Now it's really evident why Pope Benedict called it quits. Francis just gave himself away- whether it was by being deliberately dishonest or in such high denial about the abuses against the women of Ireland that any sane person would wonder why he should be heading this organization.
This is what happens when you tell mortal men that they are imbued with "supernatural powers."
3
@JaneK
What do you expect from an institution which believes in exorcism to treat victims of psychosis?
1
This internecine conflict is as old as the papacy and short of killing each other, as in previous times, will always exist. This isn't the Middle Age, so the pope is safe. However, like his predecessors, he won't take appropriate action against the priests who have sexually molested those they were charged to protect. The one constant in the Church is the continuing cover-ups. We're talking politics here.
26
With all the pageantry of the regalia and rites, I think that as a standard Penance upon ALL of the clergy would be for them to wear a rough, grey homespun type cloth robe with no distinguishing features, no pleats, no adornment, no head coverings. All of their regalia fr their ceremonies need to be made of simple, un-glazed clay or wood, no more fine altar cloths, no more fancy golden sconces, chalices or croziers, no more golden crosses or any sort of adornment in any church, other than those already historically built into the church itself, but all items within that church must be of the most simple, unadorned fashion possible, so that ALL know that the Priests have NO Position Above the Laity, but that they SERVE the Laity, not the other way around.
To see these criminals adorned in such rich garb, all the handmade lace and embroidery, the wide gaudy trim and precious metals adorning everything while their parish members go hungry yet still pay tithes.
No more of the wearing the White of Purity, they no longer may lay claim to that, Nor may they adorn themselves with Black, which signifies deep wealth, Black used to be the scarce and most expensive dye available, thus was used by Nobility. No more Scarlet, as that was a Dye of Wealth, as well as deep Purple, none of these colors may be used for sashes or head adornment, They no longer deserve to flaunt their wealth.
ALL of the Church's wealth Must now be used for Humanity, no more Vatican Luxury Living for criminals.
1
The last pope RESIGNED. This pope is attempting to address the Vatican banking scandal, the corruption within the intuition, and centuries old laws that need modern reform. Getting rid of France won't get us modern laws, but it will turn the clock back to the "tuck it away, pay no attention to this, and let's not look at the banking scandal, the LACK f addressing the poor. Conservatives in the US want to get rid of this pope, but he is in the BEST POSITION to reform the church.
3
Why anyone continues to attend the catholic church is a mystery to me.
2
After I read the article where several hundred children bodies where found in an abandoned septic tank in a former Catholic run home for unwed mothers in Taum , Ireland I was in tears. You would expect that from Russian ,Nazi Germany but our church. The whole church needs to close down. The men have been in charge for 2,000 years and this is the best it got to be. It is not going to get any better with the same bad people in and to think it will you are brain washed.
3
@D.j.j.k.
Catholics are largely insensitive to human suffering on any scale due to the strength of their belief in a higher reward in the afterlife. This explains why child sex abuse and wife abuse have been downplayed for ages in the Catholic Church-- all a case of 'shut up, the Lord's ways are mysterious'.....
1
t's a mistake to focus exclusively on "What did the Pope know and when?" The fact is, everybody knows and has known for some time that there's an extremely serious, widespread and long-lasting pederasty problem. Some people know it generally and some with a good deal of specificity. The first question is what, given that knowledge, any given person has been done to rectify the situation within the limits of that person's ability. Francis gets an F in that regard however you slice it.
That's not to say that the accusation is trivial, which it's obviously not. The more specific the knowledge, the more responsibility to act on it. If the accusation is true, Francis' responsibility was maximal and his response was minimal.
Archbishop Vigano long knew of Cardinal’s abuse and must resign - instead points finger at Pope
4
Where does the buck stop? God knew about it and did nothing to stop it. God should step down.
7
So exciting, a bunch of men running around in long dresses with funny hats backstabbing each other for personal gain. A complete joke.
Pope Francis is the best thing to happen to the church in 50 years. Useless people like Vigano deserve to be cast aside as Francis continues his quest to modernize (or save) the Church.
1
The accuracy of the 11-page letter was confirmed by Monsignor Jean-François Lantheaume. Common NY Times! Let’s do some good investigative journalism and get to the bottom of this. Let the chips fall where they may.
2
While Pope Francis has been slow in responding and however seemingly slow he may be in proposing concrete measures to address the situation, I’m persuaded that this is simply a campaign, by a Vatican insider, to get rid of progressive pope and install a conservative replacement to succeed him.
This is blatant politics of the worst kind and we should all resist this knee jerk blaming Pope Francis yet step up calls for reform which, going by his response to other social issues, are likely to be more enlightened than anything we might expect from Vatican insiders like Vigano.
3
When you see a guy like Vagano calling for the Pope to resign over pedophelia, understand that he's just another hypocrite up to his neck in altar boys looking to get the straight shooting Argentine Jesuit the hell out of their way.
5
We are witnessing a true battle within the conservative and liberal factions within the church. Conservatives are quick to forget the former por John Paul II one of their champions, knew and protected pedophile Marcial Maciel founder of the legion of Christ and a wealthy and powerful supporter of them. In the end, the liberal faction, truer to the Christ shall prevail, hopefully.
2
Who would not love a system allowing to punish crimes with prayers, and waiting for an elusive final jugement in another world?
1
It’s a pleasure to watch the Catholic Church devour itself. But who, in the end, will get the real estate?
2
Karol Wojtila (aka John Paul II) knew of several paedo priests and did nothing. Was he ever asked to resign? This is nothing more than an excuse to smear a progressive Pope. Don't give up Pope Francis. History is on your side!
3
Roman Catholicism is now faced with irrefutable evidence of criminal conspiracy to obscure the rape of innocent boys by sexual predators. The priests who commit those crimes should be prosecuted along with those who hide and/or fail to report to law enforcement that such assaults are being perpetrated. Innocent children are unable to set limits or report their rapists. Moreover, neither they nor their advocates have been able to successfully seek financial damages for those assaults. The Vatican's vast wealth should be used to compensate those victims but it is shielded from that moral and legal responsibility. Since Constantine imperial rule has included the acquisition of limitless political, financial and territorial power with a Vatican imposing an absurd and authoritarian moral theology that condemns sexual desire and expression outside of heterosexual marriage. The rise of sexual predators is but one facet of this profound corruption and distortion of the Life of the Christ. His kingdom was not of this world yet the Vatican has buried the simplicity of His life under the trappings of an elite Vatican and Pope sustained through the authoritarian arrogance of moral theologians. Through the centuries they have condemned and controlled our lives with primitive versions of sexuality manifest in the predatory conduct of its priesthood. Christ were He here would shield those children and save them from this arrogant perversion of His life.
1
The Pope’s critics see his authentic virtue, his teachings of Jesus Christ over his apostles, as something to be opposed.
Only a true spiritual person such as Pope Francis can reform the ancient Church and bring it back to life.
One reform would be to treat women and men as equals, as Jesus did not create that disparity.
Resigning and leaving the problem for others to solve is easy. If he did so, the Church would wither on the vine.
Reforming the Church following the teachings of Jesus Christ is hard, but infinitely more blessed and worthwhile.
6
@David Parsons
And yet, the pope's response to sex abuse is shockingly poor. Appallingly poor. Bishops and cardinals who've covered up abuse, who are Pope Francis' friends, seem to get a pass and not be held accountable for covering up crimes. Mercy, I guess?
I would suspect though that isn't quite what Jesus had in mind when he said "And whoever welcomes a little child like this in My name welcomes Me. But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea."
20
In your judgment, you throw stones.
I’m sure you would know how to handle such a complex problem perfectly, far far better than the Pontiff.
Maybe he doesn’t have your clairvoyance - or maybe you don’t care if you are wrong?
The problem did not start with him by a long shot, but you do like to throw your stones. That is easy, cheap, and adds nothing but your conclusions, such as they are.
1
The Pope is too much for Vigano,
Too close to Christ's teachings, that's so
Unsettling to him
He's attacking with vim,
Not pure like the Pope, but a Pro.
5
This Pope made saints of two popes that ran the church during years of abuse and cover up.
Don't believe I've seen a word of this anywhere.
Seems a terrible injustice not reported.
3
I suspect Pope Francis’s rejection of gold plate and pomp and lace dresses and red shoes—his emphasis on modeling Christ-like personal poverty and on welcoming the poor, the other—that is behind the timing of this attack. Archbishop Viganò wants all of this Pope’s appointments overturned why? So that power can be returned to the same crowd that believes in their moral infallibility so completely that the rite of confession and forgiveness wipes any slate “clean?” The problem is not homosexuals. The problem is pedophiles. And self-righteous ideologues like Viganò who miss the good old days. Pope Francis has work to do, but Vigano’s ploy to turn back the clock should be rejected.
12
Don't for a second underestimate the power of the right wing and a defrocked Cardinal with particular animus towards the Pope. Big church, big problems, but no one better suited to lead through those big problems.
If you are going to be superstitious and sign up for the doctrine that begs credulity among the rest of the instruments of crowd control by monotheists, polytheists, and the range of power freaks masquerading as the true way to beat death... and your neighbor... at least some of them have a heart. This Pope does.
You can rest assured the right wing cardinal's cabal of reactionary, probably active child molesters will return it to the financial free-for-all of prior papacies.
6
Mr. Horowitz, thank you for your excellent reporting. There are many problems with the Church that have been problems since its founding. Just look at the original Apostles. Even the battle of Archbishop Vigano is worthy of the Borgias,Medicis & Machiavelli. The purpose of his letters & invectives is not the sexual practices of the clergy but the removal of a Pope who wants to reform it. He falls silent on what he knew as part of the Curia & what he failed to do. Even not mentioning the burying the problems purposely by a recently sainted John Paul II . This could have been solved years ago . Instead the Archbishop uses the guise of knowledge to try to remove a Pope because it does not follow his beliefs , while Pope Francis reflects the teachings of Jesus Christ. The stupidity of the Archbishop is he will speed up the changes to the Church he so vehemently & with lies fights. There will be lay people, women, & marriage for the clergy offered in the future to fill the huge gaps in the clergy. There will be a return to the ministry & not the trappings of the church. I pray for the strength of our Pope to continue. I pray for our Church to return to Christ teachings & not the teachings of hate & confusion that Archbishop Vergano tries to employ . I pray for the Archbishops soul, that he may know Jesus. And not a lust for power or a resumption of the Inquisition.
5
Take away the revolting and anti-American tax exempt status of Vatican Inc.; remove the statute of limitations for molestation and rape in all 50 states; prison sentences for those men who are still alive and removal of all honorariums of the dead predators; every attorney general of the other 49 states ought proceed with criminal investigations of the RCC, then fine that ancient evil misogynist cult back to its medieval taproot. It never had any place in the United States. If the 3rd world wants to genuflect to that antediluvian horror show, let them.
5
@Margot
Visit Malta if you need further evidence of Catholic obsession with gore and human suffering. The religious art in Maltese churches and statuary is particularly bloody and unsettling.
"Pope Francis Long Knew of Cardinal’s Abuse and Must Resign, Archbishop Says"
No one should be surprised by Archbishop Viganò's letter. He and many of his US buddies have been fingering the prevailing wind for a while and by now they know exactly in which direction it blows and, more importantly, what it has to offer them.
After Pope Francis "accepted" the resignation of three Chilean bishops, including the controversial Juan Barros, it was clear that the US bishops will be next. But that ignored the fact that US bishops and cardinals are much more numerous and much more powerful, co pared to a few Chilean bishops. So, those who naively thought that such a move by Pope Francis will not be resisted and there will not be a push back were caught in a huge surprise.
It used to be that when a pope was going against powerful bishops, they had someone inside Vatican to poison him (www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/alexanderVI.htm). But nowadays that kind of "problem solving" approach has become too old fashion and, more importantly, carries many risks. So, poisoning of a pope is replaced by having someone within Vatican publishing poisonous letters.
6
Is it merely coincidental that this is the guy who set up a gotcha meeting between Kim Davis and the pope
6
Wow! Who would ever think priests would be morally-bankrupt or less than honorable persons? This story reads like a 21st century version of the 1960s soap opera and book, "Peyton Place" or "As The World Turns."
Most communities are small and insular. Can Vatican City be compared to Hollywood? Whether it was Rock Hudson's gay lifestyle or Harvey Weinstein's casting couch or rampant drug and drug use, there are no secrets per se, but it still takes courage to speak out about abuses by those in authority.
It took courage for Pope Francis to walk into the lion's den and admit his or his church's failures.
I often think of Christ's words, "Let he who is without sin cast the fast stone." As humans, we're all sinners, but that's not to say that such abuses should not be punished. It's scary to think an ordinary Christian or other adults with some religious upbringing lead lives with a stronger moral compass than these priests. For decades, even in our small diocese, most everyone has heard gossip about priests who have been drunk/disorderly, chased women, abused children or piled up gambling debts, but with a wink from the Bishop and a transfer, these priests still managed to keep their jobs. I was appalled when one of these priests with a questionable past was assigned to my church. I tell myself it's not for me to judge others. I'd rather see him on the altar and perhaps be rehabilitated and do his penance than to see my church close permanently for a lack of priests.
Your Local Priest Long Knew of Cardinal’s Abuse and All Must Resign, God Says.
2
A lot of sour grapes here from a demoted priest.
6
If the Pope knew, and did nothing, he needs to go, period.
3
This is almost entirely about the byzantine court politics of the last absolute monarchy of Europe. Vigano now is the champion of children's protection? Where was he and his band of ultra-conservatives for the last two decades?
This is a putsch by powerful and well funded arch-conservatives to topple this Jesuit Pope, and the few prelates in the world supporting him. Notice that a conservative Cardinal, George Pell who is actually facing a criminal trial proceeding in his native Australia, is not in the cabal's gun sights. Neither are other conservative prelates who covered up or themselves abused.
As a non-RC Christian I probably shouldn't care. Once we would have said "Good, let them tear themselves apart". However, an RC church captured by reactionaries is in no one's interest given their reach and political power in many countries.
8
If the extreme right wing of the Church is seizing on this to mount an anti-Francis attack, he (Francis) must be doing something to which they object. More power to him. I am certain that critics like Vigano are not really objecting to what is certainly unacceptable inaction on the Pope's part; they are just using his inaction as a way to try to take power themselves.
7
@Barbara8101
Over the last couple of days I’ve hurled a lot of anger and demands at the Church and Francis in these comment sections. This is his problem to solve now after Benedict abdicated responsibility. I hope hope hope he has something in the works to address this and set it right. I hope like Bob Mueller he is working quietly behind the scenes to launch a spectacular takedown of offenders throughout the church hierarchy at one time. I could be wrong, I most likely am, but I hope I’m right.
Viganò is nothing more than a pariah of a different sort. He is power driven and nothing more.
1
Well, gee. I hope this Vigano character remembered to collect his 30 pieces of silver.
10
@abner51
Look at the lifestyle - they've got their 30 pieces - and more - long ago.
I am Catholic born and raised, and just as I perceive - know of - the total, blatant lies of the Trump administration, I do not believe ANY of the hierarchy. My heavens, this reminds me of Medieval Catholicism! Corruption and hunger for power from within, greed for all those gold chalices and altar-pieces, land-grabbing, you name it. These are the so-called spiritual leaders who dare tell its laity, particularly women, how we should behave personally and sexually..even within marriage. They judge us and condemn us to damnation for just trying to live our lives decently and with civility, following the universal moral code, while they perform and hide among the most heinous sins of nature. Clean the shop now, priest, bishops, and Pope Francis. And worry about YOUR souls not ours.
90
@Kathy Lollock
I was just about to make the same comparison with the 45's conduct and that of his administration. These are the times when the mask has been ripped off both civil and church politics and revealed it's ugly face. The cowardice, corruption and complicity of both civic and religious government is on total display. The next steps are for total makeovers. Vote in November and keep the pressure on the church. That's the new, 'Onward Christian Soldiers'!
4
Great comment!
2
Carlo Vigano might as well call for EVERY Catholic Bishop who knew of such abuses to resign. That would probably include the great majority of current Catholic Bishops, leaving the church with no leadership. This seems like a blatant political move by a Vatican insider named Carlo Vigano, to get rid of a reformist Pope. I hope that this media circus by Vigano does not become the normal way that the Church makes decisions.
6
@Will Hogan
There are lots of nuns who have administrative experience. It would be refreshing to have a Sister serve in the administrative role of Bishop. To boot, have her report to an episcopal board of directors. Mandate that 70.0% of the directors be mothers of children 18 or younger. Have a mix of Catholic and non-Catholic mothers.
2
The Church’s future is tenuous at best with Francis, but hopeless with ‘conservatives’ like Viganò. It is a shame because there remain many dedicated priests and lay people who contribute a great deal to their communities through outreach programs and Catholic schools.
5
Pope Francis has based his Papacy on mercy and inclusiveness. The problem of abuse has existed for centuries and is of catastrophic proportions, and any dealing with it is going to be vast and complex.
The problem is not of his making. The practical, as opposed to theological, issues are daunting:
1. How can the Church atone? Adequate financial compensation for all living victims would be staggering. It seems impossible the Church could pay without impairing greatly impairing its functioning. It's the duty of Francis and the Church to serve the faithful.
2. Clearly, offending clergy must be dismissed, but what about those who knew and were silent? Fellow priests, monsignors, bishops, and on up. The Church already has a dearth of clergy.
3. Francis's teaching requires mercy to all, recognizing the ability of each to repent, including fallen clergy. Taking care of them while not allowing them to perform their past functions will require significant reorganization, and perhaps restructuring.
4. Francis's policies have been controversial and he has many opponents within the Church already. The political factors to be considered in choosing his response seem complex almost beyond imagination. Any solutions will require internal support.
There's understandable public pressure for Pope Francis to act. It seems prudent and consistent for him to move deliberately.
I'm confident in the goodness of Pope Francis, and his wisdom. Even without the attacks, his task is unenviable.
2
It seems rather clear that:
1. Francis knew of the problems and helped hush them up. No senior prelate could be unaware of the issues.
2. Viganò is a throwback who wants to take the church back to the “good old days”, conflating homosexuality and pedophilia, and is using whatever opportunities come his way to do it.
So, both are very likely guilty of the accusations against them. Now, who is better for leading the church forward? That’s the question.
41
@JMJackson
Neither of them. The first is a lackadaisical entity incapable or unwilling to full assess the potentially explosive implications of a Vatican cover-up of high-level sex crimes. As for the former nuncio, he suffers from flights of fancy, imagining a return to Latin masses and the emergence of new Torquemadas out to 'reform' a fallen Western society. Unfortunately both of them are totally ignorant of the complexities of the modern world and adult human sexual relations to be of any use to anyone in the 21st century.
1
@JMJackson Vigano's already retired as of January 2016. Maybe time for Francis to do the same.
1
"Penance"? "Forgiveness"? OK nice ideas but how about accountability? And accountability for sexuslly abusing a child, for all of us lay people (and "lay" is the term the clergy use for those of us who are not in their club) is PRISON. In this case ALL the abusers should be tried and put in prison. And all of those who let them get away with it behind the charade of penance and forgiveness should go to jail as well. Including the pope.
The catholic church has lived by it own rules for at least 2 millennia. It's time to stop them. Defrock and imprison. They are the worst of criminals hiding behind some fiction they call religion which they feel gives them the right to make, break and hold everyone but themselves accountable to the rules. They are criminals.
2
Just another attempt by ultra conservatives to control the church right back to the middle ages. when will they realize that it won't work! This cardinal should be ashamed of himself and perhaps the Holy Father should politely ask him to refrain from inciting vigilantism among people who are starving for a church that continues to show sighs of progressive life. Perhaps the cardinal should resign.
6
A better headline would be "Catholic Right Wing Traditionalist Archbishop critical of Pope Francis". This is a smear attack by Vigano and his deeply reactionary cronies. The NY Times headline, "Pope Francis Long Knew of Cardinal’s Abuse and Must Resign, Archbishop Says", gives too much credence to his allegation.
6
Maybe it was written by Douthat, who has all but called the Pope a heretic in some of his columns.
2
Carlo Maria Viganò is the Trump of the Catholic Church. He sees a chance to seize control for his über conservative brethren since he was forced into mandatory retirement at age 75. His “speaking out” is done not out of nobility or true love of the church but of self-interest.
Carlo Maria Viganò has longed wished to take the RCC to the extreme right. Expelling all homosexual priests and strengthening the oppression of women. He insists homosexuality is the cause of the current sexual abuse scandals, it is not. Pedophilia is the root cause, without recognizing this there will be no resolution.
Of course, Francis knew about the depth of the scandals when he rose to the papacy. He had a living former pope to brief him. When he became aware of what all popes before him knew, he sat on it. He did nothing.
By now I have no great affection for Pope Francis, however, Viganò will set the church back decades to when all these scandals and abuses by priests were covered up. Francis may not be perfect but he’s better than Viganò and his ilk.
3
The incredibly destructive conservative Catholics of the American church are using the sexual abuse victims as pawns in there game of creating an intolerant Church that creates more and different victims. Francis has been a breath of fresh air as Pope. The Church is growing in many places in the world. The conservatives in the US church are tied into the same nefariousness as the conservative, political movements in the US. The pope cannot and should not resign, as needed reform in the Church will not happen without him.
107
@Todd If you think someone who would do the things that the archbishop has accused the pope of doing (or, for that matter, the things that we already know the pope has done, like lashing out at abuse victims for accusing a bishop of shielding their abuser) is a “breath of fresh air,” you’ve forgotten what fresh air is like. The fact that the conservatives in the Catholic Church are terrible (and, of course, they are) does not mean that liberals like the pope are not terrible as well. Your desire to minimize or ignore the scale of the wickedness being alleged here is shameful.
2
@Todd Why not a reform-minded pontiff who is not corrupt? There are plenty of liberal bishops who would like to be Pope.
1
Easy to criticize. The Pope would be the first to admit he is but human. Has he made mistakes, who among us have not? Unlike others in the Church leadership, he is confronting the issue and trying to fix it.
4
@John K Then why were Catholics taught that the Pope is infallible because he receives his direction directly from God ?
How long does it take to wear away the shame of how naive and gullible we all were ?
3
On the subject of papal infallibility perhaps the following will help. The Pope’s actions are only infallible if they fit this definition, otherwise he is as capable of sin as the rest of us and must also go to confession.
The year prior to receiving Confirmation this minutiae was drilled into us. Public school had spelling bees, we had those and catechism bees.
““The doctrine of infallibility, officially defined at the Vatican I council of 1870, says that when the Pope is officially defining church dogma, the Holy Spirit is also. There are three requirements for infallibility to be invoked:
1. The pronouncement must be made by the official successor to Peter.
2. The subject matter must be in the area of faith and morals.
3. The Pope must be speaking ex cathedra (from the chair) of Peter, and must be intending to proclaim a doctine that binds the entire Church to assent.”
www.catholicbible101.com/papalinfallibility.htm
It would appear that practically everyone in the Catholic Church has participated in a cover-up of these atrocities. At least Pope Francis is trying to do something about this at the highest level. Though not a perfect effort, it does appear to be sincere.
4
It does seem the Church should recognize they being gay is normal just as being heterosexual is normal for some. And then let everyone get married according to their preference.
This would not solve the pedophile issue. They have to set up a no tolerance system to the best of their ability enforce it. Education of children should be top on the list with an easy reporting to catch the ones that are bad.
1
The conservatives are at the heart of not only the sex abuse in the Catholic church, the cover-up, but all that is wrong with the Catholic church. Like America in general the Catholics have the choice between a progressive and the corrupt right wing. America has lost that battle and is led by the most corrupt individual it has ever seen. The question remains for the Catholic church.
2
@John Covering up sex abuse was sadly not only done by conservatives. Liberal bishops covered things up just as often as conservatives did. Maybe they had different reasons, I don't know, but the end result was the same.
1
Pope Francis is not the problem, but rather the answer, to the Church’s problems.
He is a spiritual person following the teachings of Jesus Christ, and speaking as did Jesus to all flawed humanity to live a more perfect life.
In my lifetime the Catholic Church has never had a more authentic leader, who speaks plainly, but with great insight.
It is easy to resign and turn the problems to someone else, while the Church withers on the vine.
The far more difficult path is to find out why this has occurred and reform the Church.
Jesus taught and lived change. He sought reform in his days. If the current configuration of the Church has led to systemic crimes of the most egregious nature, reform the Church to eliminate the capacity for harm.
Elevate the role of women in the Church to be equal with men. If priests and nuns are to continue to be celibate, welcome celibate LGBT priests and nuns. Even under current Church doctrine it is not a sin to be celibate LGBT.
The worst offenders in nearly every profession are repressed hypocrites, and the Church is no exception.
Darkness attaches to light in a spiritual sense. Men and women working together as equals to solve one of the most damaging problem the Church has faced in its long history is essential to Reform and return to grace.
Resigning is easy. Working to reform the Church is tough and demanding.
Only a true spiritual person like Pope Francis will succeed, by following the teachings of Jesus Christ,
6
Let me get this right, we are talking here about people who are supposed to be spiritually better than the rest of us and yet it seems to me as if we are talking here about a fight between Hollywood actors or New York socialites.
To Cardinal Vigano, I would say: Go and read the New Testament one more time. It seems as if Cardinal Vigano only read the Old Testament.
3
This article states that "the Pope shared that until his visit he “had never heard” about Ireland’s notorious mother and baby homes, where children were ripped away from unwed mothers.
How in the world could the Pope not have known this. There have been many news articles in the past year about this practice. Millions of people are aware of this public knowledge. It's impossible that the Pope didn't know about this until this weeks visit. He's either a liar or a dunce. I believe the NYT had a very very lengthy article on Irelands past practice of holding pregnant, unmarried young girls, hostage and then taking their babies.
Having had 12 years of Catholic education I've been a happy athiest for many years now.
The headline should read something this: Former Vatican Diplomat, who is Aligned w/Far Right Elements, & who was Fired by Pope Francis in 2016, is Now Demanding the Pope Resign.
5
If Vigano's statements are true - and they may be - then why didn't he alert law enforcement? He is equally culpable in this coverup.
This has nothing to do with priests abusing children and everything to do with conservative hypocrites attempting to get a mulligan on Francis's election.
Memo to hypocrites: you ain't fooling anyone and you ain't changing anything. Your hypocrisy is palpable, your numbers are small, and Francis (unlike Trump ) was elected without outside interference, voter suppression, or electoral tampering. Live with it, or better yet ....
2
The question comes to mind: is this revelation part of the struggle in the Vatican between the liberals and conservatives? And the revelation(whether true or false) is meant to embarrass and force the pope into retirement. Then the other question is: if Vigano knew, why did he wait so long to speak out? Very curious. Very.
1
This too shall pass.
Remember when it hit you bit by bit, as you grew taller and stepped back a little, that your elders and idols were ordinary fallible folks like you, stumbling and lurching along as best they could?
By the same token, one after another of our collective figures and institutions of power and authority - if not wisdom - is being toppled and exposed, and we're feeling duped and scared.
This painful period of national and international transition has to end, folks.
That may be of no comfort or practical help, but it's something to keep
in mind as we put one foot in front of the other, isn't it?
Just wondering.
5
@Just Wondering just as the Protestant Reformation took place in breathtaking increments and violent outbreaks, so will the Great Falling Away from the Catholic Church...
1
Assuming Carlo Maria Viganò's accusation is real, he is equally at fault not to have done his part until now. In his position did he advocate a transparent policy before?
The Pope's position is the most challenging in that he, particularly this most decent onr, is doing his utmost considering that most of his critics or his internal opponents, like Carlo Maria Viganò, have a dagger ready particularly when the heat gets closer and closer to them.
First and foremost the actual perpetrators must immediately be dealt with, including normal civi prosecution, and then analyze the motive(s) and behind the scenes actions of people who cover up the accusations.
4
Ok Catholic folk out there. make your choice.
Which is it gonna be:
facilitation of pedophilia or rampant homophobia?
7
As usual, Vigano ignores the abuse of girls and women. Only 'homosexuals' are to blame.
18
As for the venom directed at Pope Francis by Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano--the Archbishop was fired by Francis during the first few months of Francis' pontificate. Vegano is a vengeful and wicked fellow from what I hear. It is a shame the media is giving him a platform. I have been told that Vegano has met with Steven Bannon on several occasions
12
What kind of cave has Vigano been living and wants to drag the rest of the Catholics into that cave by blaming the homosexuals for child sexual abuse? Blaming the minority of any kind for social ills is very Trumpian.
19
This is a classic counteroffensive move (rather Trump-like), to accuse your accuser of what you, in fact, have done...it is designed to get rid of a more inclusive, pastoral Pope. Still, Francis has fallen woefully short. This heinous abuse, which includes the raping of children, is not a "tragedy" (except for its victims), as he calls it. These are CRIMES of assault PROVEN to be committed by priests who are subject to Francis. Unless and until he announces penance, punishment, and accountability for these criminals, I am deeply saddened to say Francis's mere words on this mean nothing.
102
@TruthTeller, you nailed it!
There is a simple solution to this problem. Every Catholic official in the world, from your local priest all the way up to the Pope are asked one simple question, "Did you have any knowledge of sexual abuse that you covered up by not reporting it to your superior or the authorities?" There are only three possible answers and actions to be taken regarding this question...
1. The subject truthfully answers no... he or she returns to their post.
2. The subject lies and answers no... he or she returns to their post and they will have to deal with God.
3. The subject truthfully answers yes... he or she is dismissed and the local authorities are informed for possible arrest and prosecution.
8
This Archbishop Vigano fellow seems to spend an awful lot of time writing spiteful memos. Hey Mitch, why not make him an honorary Republican?
7
Archbishop Vigano is a prime example of why the Church has to drastically change. Any institution that promotes a vicious, lying, hypocrite like him is in deep trouble. Where was Vigano during all the time of horrific sexual abuse? He was in more a position to change things than the current Pope was. Now, when things in the Church are justifiably in turmoil he chooses this time to spread his fiction. The Church needs a change and defrocking a liar like Vigano would be a good first change.
8
As long as the Catholic Church’s requires priests to be celibate and male it will attract people whose sexuality is somehow deviant. Only when it understands that one can have a normal sex life and still lead a sanctified life and offer religious leadership will it weed out sexual deviants from the priesthood.
8
@S H
The Roman Catholic Church established that celibacy is required of its priests so that any inheritance that priest would be entitled to would go to the coffers of the church, and not to the family of the priest. An even better reason for the requirement of celibacy: no family, spouse, descendants, more for the coffers of a corrupt institution, as decided and directed by man, not Jesus.
To blame the Church's sexual abuse problem solely on homosexual priests is a ridiculous assertion that flies in the face of both the commandments and the facts and reeks as well of an attempted political grab by neo conservative bishops. Plenty of young female parishioners have also been molested by heterosexual priests, both in this country and abroad. This is not simply a "gay" thing. For an archbishop to behave in this way against the Holy Father goes against all Catholic teaching. In essence, it is, in my opinion, heresy. He should be defrocked as soon as possible along with his cohorts.
6
We will now see the demise of two formerly “great” institutions: The Catholic Church and the Republican Party - both wrought asunder by the egos of self-righteous, self-serving men.
4
Of course the Pope knew...for decades, i would say...as he rose in position. The catholic church has paid out hundreds of millions of $ to thousands of families to keep them quiet. Most, if not all of the hierarchy, have been complicit in these heinous crimes. I don't understand how people can continue to believe in this institution and its leaders. Or its doctrine. It's "do as I say, don't do as I do." Hypocritical. And who cares if the perpetrators or accusers are conservative or liberal??!! Give me a break!!! Did anyone think of the children and the damage done to them??? How calloused and selfish can these people be? This is by far the most corrupt government I have ever seen and they answer to no one...no international body...and they continue to wield enormous power...not only as a religious organisation but as a political entity.
5
Infallible popes don't flip-flop on established DOGMA. Pope Frankie should practice Christianity, and not start endless wars of errorism. Repent, Pope Frankie, repent!
2
The old play list, eh? Bash “the gays”. Sad.
6
Just like blaming Bernie Snders for Trump, blaming gays for crimes committed by the clergy won't advance civilization one iota.
1
Bishop Robert Morlino of the Madison, Wisconsin diocese wrote a letter to Catholics stating that the Church has a subculture of homosexuality. This has been said in the past but never so forcefully. This has also been said by other priests and lay people well informed with the Church and one person even said it was at least 30 percent. Others have said it is as high as 60 percent. Not all homosexual priests are molesting children but we have learned that 81 percent of those molested were males. Look no farther than Cardinal McCarrick who preyed on male seminarians and priests.
This must be addressed if we are to have an honest discussion of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church. I think that there should be a thorough review of those entering the priesthood to make sure they are fit to serve. Those who have been known to have abused children even once must be immediately defrocked and turned over to authorities. No more pussyfooting around by the higher ups. They have also been part of the problem.
To repeat, it is not all of the homosexual priests who are causing this scandal, but there are enough to cause concern. Something must be done to rid the Church of this scourge before it is too late. Catholics want action and answers. They will not tolerate much more of this evil. We must also think of the victims who have been scared for life. They must be given all the counseling required to ease their pain.
Please New York Times print my comment.
7
@WPLMMT, Bishop Morlino and his followers still can’t admit or won't admit what the sex abuse scandals were all about, and instead they would use these tragic events to advance their agenda of homophobia! If you want to "address" this problem, how about this as a solution--at long last open the priesthood to women and married priests!
1
@WPLMMT
Every female and child on the planet knows the most dangers in the world are perpetrated by heterosexual males. Just look at the prison population of every country; mirrors the larger human population as well as all the ancient cult religions that still hang on despite the rise of global education and intellect.
2
@WPLMMT
Your attempt to link homosexuality and pedophilia is a vicious slander and demonstrates your ignorance of the real issue at hand.
3
This squalid episode reminds me very much of the attack by Catholic ultra-conservatives on the late Cardinal Joseph Bernardin of Chicago. Infuriated by his moderate and compassionate views, Bernardin's enemies cooked up a charge of a homosexual attack on a young man by the cardinal, in the hope of ruining his reputation and forcing him to resign. Instead, he rose above the muck, and survived to see the accusation proven false.
Ultra-conservatives love to fling the charge of homosexuality as the cause of problems within the priesthood, despite study after study that has shown no relationship between homosexuality and pedophilia. This current attack on Pope Francis is just another instance of desperate, enraged reactionaries trying to bring down a man who opposes their Dark-Ages religious mentality.
13
@Judith Testa
I think that Cardinal Bernadin was a saint, and I am beginning to think the same of John McCain.
As foretold by St. Paul concerning the End of Days, the rise of AntiChrist, and the Second Coming . . .
The Great Apostasy may have arrived:
2 Thessalonians 2 (KJV)
Now we beseech you brethren, by the Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and, by our gathering together unto him
That you be not shaken in mind, or be troubled neither by spirit nor by word, nor by letter as from us- as that the Day of Christ is at hand.
Let no man deceive you by any means.
For that day shall not come, EXCEPT there come a
"Falling Away" FIRST.
And, that the Man of Sin will finally be revealed . . . The Son of Perdition
As things appear to be coming apart at the seams within the Catholic Church; not to mention the debacle of the Trump Presidency and the polarized divisiveness- Is this telegraphing the final "reveal"?
I close with a pertinent quote . . .
"Look beyond the corruption of men, and turn to God. Hold firmly that our Faith is identical with that of our ancients.
Deny this and you dissolve the Unity of the Church"
- St. Thomas Aquinas
1
Since taking Instruction in the Catholic faith in 1962 in order to marry my wife I have regarded the Catholic Church with Fascination, Wonder and Horror. We raised our children to be Catholics. Fifty six years later I still have no resolution to my dilemma.
7
I stopped following Catholicism years ago. I don't place any religion over another & don't get me started on the hypocrisy of the far right evangelicals.... Catholicism missed the boat a long time ago, should fully embrace women for priesthood, marriage for priests & no tolerance for all these offenses. Enough forgiveness & apolligies - their words are hollow. This is like a worldwide MeToo movement. Yes I also know 2 that we're abused as kids by the hands of the church.
3
Pope Francis, even though I think he has moved too slowly on accepting full accountability for clergy sexual abuse, is starting to get that. He is acknowledging his own culpability, even his own ignorance (such as not knowing of Irish mother and baby homes), and letting it sink in. For that reason – his ability to be open and to learn and even repent - he may still be capable of leading the institutional change than many of us Catholics want. Beware, however, the unsubstantiated allegations of conservative Archbishop Vigano. The article mentions the Kim Davis incident, which makes plain Vigano’s agenda. Vigano is surely trying to use this crisis to bring down Pope Francis, whom he sees as too liberal. The systemic change the church needs now should involve opening the priesthood to women and the elimination of celibacy for priests, which Francis may be open to doing, plus the acceptance of same-sex marriages (a stretch, even for Francis). Archbishop Vigano wants none of that, nothing close to that, and so I distrust his motives here.
112
Stephen, that was a wonderful, thoughtful comment. Being of the Jewish faith and a college major in Comparative Religion, I have over the decades watched the behemoth that is the Catholic Church list and lurch its way through crisis and scandal. I both revere and respect Pope Francis. Not since John XXIII have I perceived someone of such humility, transcendent goodness, and an acute sense of history as this pope has. The deck is stacked against him however, with a calcified, intrenched, and resistant Curia unwilling to let go of dogma, power, and corruption. This archbishops accusation smacks of self-interest and blasphemy against Francis, a good and holy man. My prayer is that Francis lives a long and productive life and that his allies within the church itself help him defeat the forces of darkness and disdain that attempt to hinder the needed overhaul of the Church’s infrastructure. Vade ad Deum, Francis!
4
@Stephen Cleghorn
C'mon. The abuse of unwed mothers in Ireland was so well known that there was a movie produced.
It stretches belief to hear that the existence of the problem did not percolate to the Vatican.
This long simmering Civil War is now in the open for all the world to see. These fanatical conservative priests have long resented any and all Reforms that Francis has been elected to bring about since ascending to the throne of St.Peter. He is 100% correct in stating that far too many in the Church`s hierarchy are much more interested in their privilege and a sense of being impervious has taken precedent over their parishioners for FAR TOO long. If these extremists; who would drag the Church back into the Dark Ages (Opus Dei); get their way the Catholic Church as we know it is doomed. They would sooner have a tiny band of fanatics to lord over; then dealing with the Universal Church who must deal with ALL GOD`S CHILDREN." I stand with Pope Francis 1; as do the vast majority of Catholics all over the world. While he deals with the sins "not of His making," his critics having chosen this vulnerable time to unleash their venom. They are the mortal threat to the Catholic Church. It is such intolerable arrogance and blindness that led to this insanity in the first place.
9
@Greg Hodges You are right. The Dark Ages Catholics are everywhere and doing untold damage to the Church.
1
I'm not inclined to take the word of a disgruntled ex-employee over the words and actions of the best Pope we've probably ever had.
God bless the victims. Throwing the Pope under the bus will not help them heal, nor will it help them get the resolution they so desperately deserve.
14
I have read the comments on this article thus far and most have failed to see some the fundamental issues here. Firstly, it’s really not about conservative versus liberal. Both sides have covered up and abuses have occurred on both watch. The Pope’s decision to not respond or comment on the letter and accusations in it is not good enough. Most likely he was briefed when he first took office but overwhelmed with other issues and also because those around him were already used to cover up and hence were complacent as usual, and failed to push the issue or simply put it in the back burner— too busy with bureaucracy and preserving the Vatican and their powers at the expense of the Church members’ spiritual well-being, doctrinaire truths and need to rectify errors dating back years e.g. the claim of infallibility of the pope, the celibacy of priests, sainthoods, etc. The sexual abuse is a call for reality. Some serious reformation is what the Church needs- more in the likes of Martin Luther’s. RC congregations should liberate themselves from doctrinaire errors and false traditions that have no basis for their salvation or relationship with God and Christ. Ok, Pope Francis, we’ve heard all the repentance and apologies; time to act — put in place laws and policies to end this shame, enact changes that will end this toxic environment that promotes abuses of all kinds and cover ups, and revisit Church traditions that are false and baseless.
7
Organized religion, especially those of the "Christian" varieties is the source of much evil that Christ by his example was committed to vanquish.
This Vatican Palace intrigue and politics exposes it all in its ugly reality.
The whole thing is a CHINO (CHristian In Name Only) scam perpetrated on millions over centuries by a few in the pursuit of power, influence and of course wealth: the exact opposite of everything that Christ was about.
And yet so many millions commit themselves blindly to these charlatans. Trump must have studied their politics.
6
This is another conservative putsch within the Catholic Church. Burke & Vigano have been looking to find a reason to push this pope out and rule the Church according to their own extreme, narrow views. We must remember that these are men of very limited intellect as they do not understand the subtleties of Catholic teaching. These conservative Catholics in their shortsightedness do not understand that one's background and culture play a large role in determining one's positions on matters Catholic. The Church is losing ground and these clowns would push it right off a cliff into total irrelevance except for their very few adherents. They should not be allowed to succeed!
5
American Republican, blood and guts, lies and propaganda politics has made it to God's Own Kingdom in Earth.
Here we have a dyed-in-the-wool, super-conservative Douthat Catholic digging up dirt and throwing it opportunistically out to the world just when it will most damage the Pope. Never mind the damage to his church.
Francis is the scariest thing these wizened old Catholics have confronted since Damien. The plotting, innuendo, inaccurate and just plain false rumors and accusations flowing out of Popeville are clear indications of the depth of their worry and frustration.
I mean, My God, what if Francis makes the church meaningful in poeple's lives again?
Christ, that guy might start actually DOING love and compassion; he already makes you want to plug your ears and go "O Clemens! O Pia!" real, real loud with his constant babble about care and humane action.
Oh God, what do we do now?
5
Oh, so Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, a conservative critic of Francis.... asks for his resignation"
#1 - That from a person who should believe the Pope is infallible
#2 - That from a person who finds the Pope too progressive
#3 - That from a a former nuncio to the United States (whose clerics have much to hide)
There are obviously ulterior motives at play here. Ugly, how abuse gets politicized for a group that has a vested interest in continuing hush + conservative policy.
Pope Francis cannot loose steam in reforming the church.
I hope he dares to allow priests to marriag, female priests + contraception. That would be a breath of fresh air!
7
Many heads need to fall in the church - but Vigano should be the last one to leave. Vigano is a symptom of the disease.
2
Come again?
Maybe Francis knew, maybe not. But if he did know, and failed to act, he'd be no worse than his predecessors and a great many bishops and cardinals, etc., who covered up. I'd like him to directly deal with the institutional problem of sexual abuse and coverups. Which is easier said than done, because it has to do with private behavior and private decisions. But it ill take persistence.
Pope Francis has been a great service to a hidebound institution, and I don't want him to resign even if he did not face up to McCarrick's behavior promptly; it would endanger all his work.
By the way, let nobody be concerned about homosexuals in the church. The vast majority of pedophiles are not homosexual.
And, by the way, Vigano's 2014 letter attempting to quash an investigation is troubling and takes much credibility away from him.
4
When you have a hierarchical structure that allows no women to be a part of it, and enforces celibacy for its all-male members, sexual deviancy is an inevitable outcome.
9
This is not new news. These are the same old conservative Catholics who have been against Francis from the start. Now they are blaming him because he has not corrected the problem they caused over the years and saying give us back control and we will fix it. Not likely.
9
Someone below wrote of Jesus' example of forgiveness and how it may factor in the reason these pedophile priests are rarely turned over for prosecution.
I believe, the RCC Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation is part of the core problem. When these priests are caught they confess, and are absolved of their sins by another priest, perhaps a fellow pedophile. Then the church gives them a very large benefit of the doubt they won’t offend again and leaves them put, or moves them to a new parish with unsuspecting prey. When caught with another child the church repeats this useless exercise.
This concept of seeking redemption through confession is a strongly held belief. This rite is not inherently bad but it does tend towards protecting the pedophiles not the victims.
The church is more concerned with saving the soul of the pedophile priest than helping the children.
Members of many professionals — nurses, doctors, teachers, child care workers, etc. — have a legal duty to report child sexual abuse, child abuse, and other forms of domestic violence when they become aware of it or suspect it. I had a duty to report and did along with the doctor I was working with at the time. This is what responsible professionals do for those who can't help themselves or have no voice.
Why aren’t the RCC and all religious organizations held to the same standard?
I left the RCC decades ago. It has not given me reason to return.
59
@BMUS
In confession, the confessor has the option of forgiving sins or of retaining them.
@BMUS: FYI, the absolution is conditioned on the penitent having "contrition" defined as "sorrow of the soul and detestation for the sin committed, together with the resolution not to sin again." So the revolving door you describe would be pointless for the person confessing if he did not have a firm purpose of not committing the sin again at the time of his confession. He wouldn't be absolved. The Church isn't stupid, though it may be many other things. And the legal privilege of "priest-penitent" of not being compelled to testify (which does not only apply to Catholics) has been recognized by society for centuries as a worthwhile trade-off to encourage people to amend their ways.
@BMUS
When we confess our sins we are told to sin no more. Further, if the sinner repeats the same sin over and over, absolution can be held back. The confessors know the priests and should use this rule.
the church needs to keep move forward not backward as Vigano and the other trump like priests and bishops would have.
Francis must be strong and punish these men. They have hurt the most vulnerable.
To say that it is a gay problem is false. these men are pedophiles. Homosexuality and pedophilia are not one and the same.
I do have one problem with Francis, however. I find it difficult to understand that he did not know about the unwed mothers and their babies who were taken from them. This is not a new story.
1
Since taking Instruction in the Catholic faith in 1962 in order to marry my wife I have alternately regarded the Catholic church with Fascination, Wonder and Horror. We raised our children to be Catholic. After sixty six years I still have no resolution to this dilemma.
5
@Mike Murray MD
The resolution is simple enough: Summon the intellect, broad lessons of history and facts staring one in the face to let go of all these male supernatural fantasies predicated on subjugating half the population as little more than breeding livestock and the male half as little more than just enabling venal ignorant predators.
3
Who couldn't see this coming? Who can't predict the next shoe to drop? These situations always follow a very predictable path and yet we feign surprise.
6
"The pope did not deny it, but sidestepped the questions by insisting he would not dignify them with a response."
Luther was right.
8
I would guess that anyone in a senior position in the Catholic hierarchy, or who has spent their life in the church is quite well aware of the so-called "homosexual current" in the Vatican, and so it would not surprise me if Francis knew of the accusations about Cardinal McCarrick as charged in the letter by the Archbishop. The Pope moved in due time to force the Cardinal's resignation; the call for Francis to quit can thusly be written off as purely political. The openness of this attack on Francis is very startling though, leading one to speculate if the contentiousness of the Middle Ages is back with the Church. What's next? An Antipope? A schism?
11
@David Godinez
Most rapists and molesters - as well as murderers and men who commit incest, are and always have been heterosexual males, most of whom have been married. Think not? Consider who makes up the prison population of every nation around the world.
2
The Vigano letter is a diatribe with its objective a putsch. It represents a desperate effort by the church's reactionary forces to reverse what Francis has done and to prevent him from changing further the composition of the college of cardinals. The letter shows that Vigano cares little about the sex-abuse scandals and their victims. It is totally about the church's teachings on sexuality, especially on homosexuality; and the direction of the church under Francis. Think Benedict's comments that a smaller, but more pure, church is preferable to what exists today. And the amount of hate in the letter is extraordinary.
I don't doubt that problems have existed in some seminaries for a long time. And I am one who favors the admission of women into the priesthood and who thinks that celibacy needs to be revisited--there is much merit in the line from the movie Spotlight that because so many in the priesthood were not celibate (though their actions involved adults), celibacy created a climate of secrecy of denial, which resulted in a reluctance to expose those committing criminal acts.
But these changes take time. Contrary to what many non-Catholics think, there are limits on what the pope can do. Francis needs another 10 years of appointing cardinals before the church can fundamentally change in ways that it needs to change.
17
There is a battle in the Church over its direction. The neo conservative elements of the church are attacking Pope Francis-not over the issue of who knew about child abuse- they all knew- but over theology. Just like the conservatives in the FBI force call me to attack Hillary before the election, the conservatives in the church are declaring open war on this Pope. Let’s hope that that the forces for good and for progress triumph over the forces of regression and the old order Who are responsible for keeping the church in the darkness.
10
Spoken like a true progressive. Unfortunately all "progress" is not positive, e.g., look at the condition of our planet. I find this point of view naive.@James Osborne
2
The men who have brought one crisis after another to the church after their orchestrated destruction of the Vatican II movement now bring us this. Petty, cynical, and trivial. The Pope Knew! rants a headline torn right from a David Pecker style rag.
Guess what? They all knew. Maybe not every name and every parish, but please stop the nonsense of an honorable priesthood, if you didn't know you didn't want to know. They knew.
I'm not sure what the writer of this letter expects it to accomplish; all it tells me is there isn't a single cardinal or bishop or monsignor who has any business running any business.
Tone deaf doesn't even begin to capture the moment, perhaps because it has defined the response by these princes of the church for the last 50 years.
119
@HW Keiser YES.! Carlo Maria Viganò is a conservative appointed by Popes John Paul and Benedict to many positions. I blame those two Popes that this scandal is still a scandal. In 1986 the American Bishops adopted strong rules for removing priests from ministry who were accused of pedophilia. All the bishops signed on. Then Pope John Paul and Cardinal Ratzinger (Benedict) told bishops that the problem wasn't a problem and they should over look the new rules. Thus Cardinal Law (Boston Globe story) and Cardinal McCarrick and the Pennsylvania indictment demonstrate the results. The American Church made serious attempts to behave responsibly. Pope John Paul stopped it. Pope Francis is not the problem.
3
@Tom Miller
And perhaps the rush to canonize John Paul II was a bit hasty? Are you kidding? A saint!!!
2
@HW Keiser Some additional info that may help, from the Associated Press, https://apnews.com/ad7d52030c90472eafeacef7ba2d9d39/Letter:-Vatican-knew...'s-behavior
"In a statement provided to the AP Sunday about the Nienstedt case, Vigano said a Vatican investigation of the allegation found no wrongdoing on his part.
"He said the allegation that he destroyed evidence was false and that his efforts to have the archdiocese correct the record have been met with silence.
...
"The document’s authenticity was confirmed to The Associated Press by an Italian journalist, Marco Tosatti, who said he was with Vigano when the archbishop wrote it Wednesday.
" 'He was very emotional and upset at the end the effort,' Tosatti told AP, adding that Vigano left Tosatti’s home afterward without saying where he was going."
1
Lucky for Pope Francis that he doesn't work for Ohio State...
Anyone who continues to support the church, after the abundance of irrefutable evidence shows that the entire organization from top to bottom has participated in covering up the heinous crimes of the clergy, is complicit. There is no wiggle room. It wasn't a few bad apples. It was the intent of a criminal organization to cover up its crimes. If you support the Catholic church, you support the rape of children.
21
@Bryant Belknap I agree. I was raised Roman Catholic and I am flummoxed by the people who stay in that faith. A good friend of mine continues to attend church. Her sister's husband, who came forward along with several other grown men about the child sex abuse they endured from their parish priest, could not recover from the severe depression he lived with, which was made worse by the drawn-out and bitter court case that ensued. I have older cousins who outright do not believe the sex abuse happened, despite their graduate degrees and critical thinking skills. I am deeply grateful to my mother, who in her mid-70s left the Church and denounced it as her anger about its many forms of abuse and injustice came to be known. She requested a non-religious funeral, and two of my aunts refused to attend because it was not in church. These same aunts used to refer to her, lovingly, as their second mother, because as a 16-year-old my mother had took on that role for several years while her mother was ill and absent. But they boycotted her memorial service, which followed my mother's instructions to a T. I guess some people cannot overcome religious indoctrination.
1
Shut it down and seize their assets. I doubt that will happen though and Bill Cosby will do more time than any pedophile priest ever will.
The other dirty secret is that for years the Catholic Church has had protection from the same blue wall that protects corrupt police. It is why you have never and will never hear the Pope speak out about police brutality. They have a nice little Quid Pro Quo arrangement.
8
Vigano, another power hungry hypocrite. This isn’t about doing the right thing. I’m so glad I quit the Catholic Church decades ago. This criminal enterprise should have lost its tax-exempt status years ago. Just to be clear, there is no way that anyone in the church hierarchy didn’t know about the abuse of children (including those that didn’t actively participate - they still knew). Given that clergy are some of the worst gossips, when accused priests were transferred to another parish, does anyone really believe that their reputation didn’t precede them?
31
@James Engel Vigano's faction were the ones who burned Joan of Arc at the stake. Francis's faction are the ones who made her a saint.
4
As an ex-Catholic, I believe the Catholic church is going to be extinct in the near future like the dinosaur because of these child sexual abuse criminal acts. It is not just a problem in the United States--it is an international problem.
8
I'm a bit troubled by repeated acknowledgements that the Catholic clergy is populated by an abundance of homosexuals. I am no homophobe but I'm not too comfortable if the percentage of homosexual clergy exceeds the liberal estimates of those in the population as a whole.
7
Thank you for this “Besides the Point” comment
Who cares how to characterise abusers
Doesn’t matter
@Sid
Why? They take the same vow of celibacy and if they adhere to it they are no different than the heterosexual priests who do the same.
Gay clergy is not the problem. Pedophile clergy who are attracted to children and sexually abuse children are.
Both hetero- and homo- sexual clergy who take advantage of fellow adults as what happened with the seminarians are more akin to the Harvey Weinsteins of the world.
62
@BMUS
This is an extremely important point. Certainly, child abuse by priests is not new. There must be scores of Cardinals waiting to be revealed, at this point-just because they are Cardinals does not mean that they are not, nor have never been sexual predators. And this is not new, the Church has always sheltered predatory priests -- and it is well known that Popes, themselves, harbored "wives" and had illegitimate children. Predator priests do not have to be gay, either. The Church has to re-examine its emphasis on celibacy, and its homophobia, weed out predator priests, Bishops,and Cardinals. Right now, every prelate in the Church is under suspicion, and that has to be ameliorated. The fact the Catholic hierarchy is a secret cabal, the more it is losing ground at this time.
1
"Religion does three things quite effectively: Divides poeple, controls people, deludes people." ~ Carlespie Mary Alice McKinney
19
A cardinal member of the Opus Dei expressed sorrow when Chilean dictator Pinochet was detained in Great Britain while the whole church was not protecting the most innocent of its members: the children.
"Senator Pinochet suffers, and in this very particular situation far from his homeland, and already with obvious signs of the weight of the years, well, let's hope in God that things will be resolved well, I have prayed and prayed for the senator, because He is a person who is suffering.” He added that they expected, in the Vatican, "confident, that our discreet efforts will have good results." Cardinal Medina, taken from the following article: https://elpais.com/.../internacional/919551606_850215.html
The problem now is that the most conservative Catholic groups, especially from the United States, want to blame Pope Francis for the abuses of minors, forgetting that when they governed the church, the most horrendous cases of sexual abuse took place. Also when the conservatives ran the church they protected and defended men like Marcel Maciel and Karadima. These are the same people who are against the reforms initiated by people Francis. They also oppose the concept of a more companionate church where everyone is welcome.
28
The archbishop was passed over THREE times for a Cardinal's hat--by the Popes about whom he lodges these complaints. But surely that has nothing to do with his speaking out in this way now.
Unsavory characters are everywhere
20
@Timothy Not sure why NYT removed my reply earlier. You are absolutely right. The ultra right cardinals will go to any lengths to unseat this pope and squelch his progressive moves.
Sinead O'Connor is owed a huge apology from the Catholic Church, the media and many others.
12
@Hellen
She and 3.4 billion other females, more if you take it all the way back more than 1000 years.
4
With the pope's possible complicity in bad behavior, I have decided to switch from former Catholic to former Episcopalian.
3
The take-away from this whole episode is really what it says about Vigano and his minions. First, after decades Vigano and his followers still can’t admit what the sex abuse scandals were all about, instead trying to allege that they were only the result of some gay priests misbehaving. And, they would use these tragic events to advance their agenda of homophobia!
I'm Catholic, and I can't believe we have guys like this still involved in any way in the leadership of the church and, worse yet, there are people who want to proclaim themselves as Christians who pay allegiance to them! The good news is that Pope Francis was on to these guys from early on. Readers of this story need to realize that what's driving all of this is Pope Francis's needed efforts to drive people like Vigano and Burke out of their leadership positions. Sadly, for many "Catholicism" has become a weird medieval cult, with little to do with responding to the call of the Gospel. But the good news is that there are a billion real Catholics who are about the real work of the church, the call to “love one another” and ministering to the poor and the outcasts. We feel Francis is a worthy leader for this journey, and we're not going to be slowed-down by so-called Catholics who are stuck on issues like their hatred of gays.
But Francis, here's an idea—let's leap way ahead by at long last opening the priesthood to women and married priests!
35
I was baptized Catholic. My parents sent me to a Catholic grammar school. Back in the 1960's we were taught that the Pope was infallible. As I grew older I realized what this meant and realized it was a lie. That was it for me. I renounced the RCC decades ago....before these scandals broke.
17
@susan
I also attended Catholic grammar school. It is perfectly understandable that you left the Church. I chose to develop an understanding of my faith that was separate and distinct from the people representing it. (It was a process for someone indoctrinated as a child.)
I hope there is some closure on these issues for the sake of all those, like myself, who chose not to turn their backs on their faith. The impact on people's faith is equally damning, especially for those poor abuse victims. They'not not only been abused. They have been robbed.
3
Vilano and Burke both need to be nuncios to Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. Soon. And denied access to media without prior review by the Vatican. Or to join Benedict in silent contemplation.
12
I abhor religion as much as the next guy tired of having his life affected by claims of sky faeries, but considering these UNSUBSTANTIATED critiques are being written by a hardline traditionalist who has feuded publicly with the historically progressive Pope Francis people really should demand some facts verified before jumping to conclusions and making demands. I guess you can't really fault religious people for forming an unwavering opinion without real proof though. At least they're consistent in that regard.
6
It doesn't seem that Vigaro is interested in healing the church much no?
Not that I ever would return to the church - after spending all of my elementary and high school years in catholic schools - but I don't see why anyone else would embrace catholicism anymore.
5
Pope Frances, in the spirit of John XXIII, is making a valiant effort to de centralize authority in the Catholic Church. In an attempt to undue the damage caused by his two immediate predecessors, he is facing an opposition that has established itself as a barrier preventing the Church from honestly facing its decades old corruption. His accuser was removed from office by Frances, for an overtly fraudulent attempt to “trick “ Frances into a public homophobic position. The issue here is not the Pope, it is the thousands of Bishops and Vatican bureaucrats appointed by Ratzinger and Wojtyla who actually operate an authoritarian and corrupt institution. Possibly a second Reformation is upon us.
22
@JTOC
Careful, the Reformation failed, as evidenced by Vatican Inc. today and by the bloody RCC's Counter-Reformation.
The Pope can solve much of this with merely 1 edict. Require his minions to waive the defense of the statute of limitations and stand trial like men. Fraudulently covering up existance of their crimes in many jurisdiction tolls the statute of limitations until authorities could be expected to learn of the crime.
24
Where was this top diplomat 20 years ago? Why didn't he try to resolve the problems then? Or even earlier? Address the problem, which is the orchestrated sexual assault of children and vulnerable adults, and the cover-up. But please don't act like YOU didn't know and help to cover it up, too.
16
Pope Francis is definitely the most compassionate of popes in my lifetime, I am 64 years old. Compassion, though, must be for the victims of these pedophiles. I am not Roman Catholic, but I do understand the influence, actions and authority of the pope. His actions influence the entire world regardless of religion. He must use his influence and authority to put a stop to the problem of pedophilia. I don't think he should resign, but he cannot sweep the problem under the rug. The laity must also exert their influence and be upfront with their local clergy and instill into their children that they should not be ashamed of what has been done to them. I pray that integrity will return to the Catholic church soon, but it will take the participation of everyone I have mentioned.
8
It seems as if many of the embittered Catholics here have forgotten that Jesus taught forgiveness, and this is what Pope Francis seems to be focusing on, rather than retribution or punishment.
It is easy for our punishment-obsessed society to insist that men who assaulted innocent children should be severely punished for the damage they inflicted on these young souls. But the harder thing to do by far is to forgive them. "And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us" is a key component of Christianity in general, and one that is frequently ignored, because it doesn't satisfy our lust for vengeance and punishment.
I am betting that the cover-up is deeply entangled with the Church's idea that all sins can be forgiven if one is penitent enough; the policy of forgiveness can certainly be instrumentalized by unscrupulous folks. Punishment evolved in human society as a way for some to maintain power and authority over others, and some still argue that severe punishment is the best deterrent. But was society any better when nobles had the power to hang a child for petty thievery?
We come from a brutal species and our better natures have had to struggle with our brutality for centuries. Abuse is not going away, but how we deal with it can change. Can we heal our abused children, while also forgiving those who trespassed against them, as Jesus asked us to do? That remains to be seen.
3
@Allison Your comments are putrid.
Forgiveness is one thing. That is not for the church, it is for the victims.
Even if the victims forgive that does not absolve or lessen the necessity for taking responsibility for criminal actions.
10
@Allison
Yes, Jesus preached forgiveness, I believe he also taught accountability and that is what is missing within the church hierarchy.
If you feel the need to forgive their trespasses that is your right. Forgiveness doesn't preclude criminal prosecution.
If the RCC wishes to restore credibility and faith in their organization they must turn over pedophile priests to law enforcement, no exceptions.
12
It is not up to Francis or any Pope to forgive a priest who harms a child or a teenager. It is only the person who was the victim of a criminal act who can do that if he is able and willing to do it.
Abusive priests are criminals as well as sinner. Francis can forgive the sin and ask that the sin be forgiven by the faithful. But these priests are criminals who broke civil law. Francis and any pope or church official who shields them from the law is guilty of covering up crimes and contributing the continuation of the crime.
The criminal priests were undoubtedly forgiven many times for their crimes when they confessed them over and over again in the confessional. What some discovered was that it would be easy to continue their life of crime. In any number of cases, as for Law and McCarrick, they found out that crime did pay when they were rewarded with promotions and comfortable retirements.
6
Vigaro appears to be a toady of Benedict; working not to better the Church, but to keep changes *he* does not like from happening.......
28
The time has come to separate Church from Civil/Criminal law. If anyone sexually abused a child in a school, for instance, the perpetrator would be criminally prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. The Church certainly can discipline within Canon law with defrocking, etc. but the criminality of the perpetrator must be prosecuted through criminal law and the courts. No exceptions - this is criminal behavior.
That said, a decades-long $3billion coverup (which the NYTimes published on Saturday August 18th speaks for itself: - obfuscation, lying, sweeping sexual abuse under the carpet and payoffs - money that will never be recouped when a simple phone call to the police and prosecutors could have stopped this immediately.
There are extreme right-wing factions within the Catholic Church that would like to bring Pope Francis, the first Jesuit to serve as Pope, down. Pope Francis will not take the "hit" for decades-long abuse and coverup but it is time for the Church to be very clear about legally prosecuting those who are sexual abusers or another other type of criminal behavior (stealing money, etc) to the fullest extent of the law.
22
I absolutely agree with you. The Catholic Church must stop protecting its priests from Civil prosecution. It is an arcane concept that has no place in modern society. That being said, Pope Francis is a big ray of hope for an out of touch institution. His words and actions resonate with modern, liberal Catholics who long to see the Church being more inclusive, more like Jesus intended it to be: loving, accepting and non-judgemental; not this charade of "hollier-than-thou" that the conservative wing keeps promoting.
128
@Meca: Thanks, Meca: I am part of a Jesuit parish here in NYC and these right-wing extremists with their own agenda - will never out-wit Jesuits who - in may instances- are also Canon lawyers. Those Jesuits I have spoken with absolutely agree with criminal prosecution for perpetrators and to stop the obfuscation! But again, Pope Francis will not take the "hit" for decades of coverup! And Archbishop Viganò needs to look within himself before casting stones!
1
@Meca: I could not agree with you more Meca! After 62 years of being a devout Catholic; it is these "holier-than-thou" conservative hypocrites that have turned their back on the loving,forgiving, accepting, and non-judgemental teachings of Jesus. "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone." One would think the conservative prince`s of the Church would at least get that. Pope Francis clearly does; and he is indeed the hope of modern liberal Catholics around the world who pray remains the beacon of hope and light that can help overcome these nightmare of sins that must end forever. The conservatives are the problem, not the solution.
1
Pope Francis may rightly be accountable for ecclesiastical and management errors, but for this thinly-veiled right-wing coup d'état, consider the source. In the current line-up of high Catholic leadership, Pope Francis is among a very small number of figures holding any hope for the dying Church's continuing relevance.
41
The Catholic Church continues to reinforce my decision to shun the religion I was raised with.
17
I wonder if RICO would apply here?
7
Drag the church, drag it into nonexistence.
7
Sadly, this report is based on the extremely biased opinion of the disgraced, and demoted Archbishop Viganó, who happened to be in a position of great power, as the Vatican diplomat in the United States, when most of the sexual abuse of minors by priests took place. Pope Francis needs to become more forceful in removing those offenders, instead of just calling out for their forgiveness. However, to give so much press to the deflections and finger pointing of a man responsible for much of the tragic crimes is strange, even if the NYT took the time to provide Viganó's background. The church needs to clean house, starting with the defrocking of people like Viganó who hide their ultra conservative views, including the shielding of guilty priests, behind a front of religious traditionalism.
9
@NoTeaPlease I agree. As much as I respect the NYT as the newspaper of record, I believe that it has a demonstrably anti-Catholic editorial stance that aligns with the majority of its readership and is manifest in this story. Today's Catholics must deal with the fact that Church leadership failed the victims of abuse by priests for a very long time. I believe Pope Francis is our current best hope for addressing and moving beyond this significant crisis. Articles like this one which gives unwarranted credibility to hypocritical opponents to Pope Francis like Vigano is unfortunate and unfair.
In all of Vigano's gay bashing, I am surprised by his restraint in not also dropping the pontius-pilate-was-gay-too bomb.
4
Wake up Catholics!
This pope only cares about the children that were abused because of the current outcry. He is part of the Vatican- Mafia. A fraud and con man. He must go.....he only asks for forgiveness not justice!
Why is that? Probably because he is part of the cover-up or even worse a predator himself.
3
@Lisa I thought he was a Cardinal in Argentina known for his simplicity until he was elected Pope. You sound like Alex Jones, complete with wild accusations and lurid speculation, unfounded of course.
13
To be replaced by whom representing what?
3
Pope Francis would be out of a job if he fully acknowledged the abuse of the church. I sincerely doubt he’s going to do that. We can partly blame societies woes but the systemic group pattern is ingrained as long as the a Catholic Church remains the suffering goes on.
1
"Holy" men are craven politicians, too?
If the Pope himself feels compelled to beg forgiveness for the 'sins' of other church officials, then of what use is prayer? To absolve oneself of the guilt of those who you continue to protect?
You can walk down a street full of men (and transgender women) wearing dresses in New York City and never have to worry about predation in the same way that a child congregant of the Catholic Church does.
3
Wow. Politicizing the sex abuse scandal, and pinning it on homosexuals. Is there not one leader of the catholic church who sees these crimes for what they truly are? Because if that leader exists, he (not "or she" because patriarchy) would call for nothing less than the resignation of all bishops and cardinals worldwide, and turn over to police every single document in the "archive" - (or more accurately, their pedophiles' collection) - from every single diocese.
If things didn't drastically change in 2002 with Spotlight in Boston, how can anyone trust that these same people will do the right thing now? These men see themselves as above earthly law, and they don't recognize the evils they have wrought upon the world based on their self-generated feelings of superiority.
The Netflix documentary series "The Keepers" should be required viewing for the entire church.
4
Well...it turns out that some corners of the Church administration have turned to 'Animal House' for their guidance on Canon Law.
“How can you have secret restrictions? What does that mean?” Cardinal Cupich said, adding that it would have been Archbishop Viganò’s duty as nuncio to inform the American bishops of the restrictions. “Why didn’t he tell us this?” he asked. “Why didn’t he enforce it?”
Using Dean Wormer's punishment of Delta Tau Chi with "double secret probation" as precedent will be somewhat confusing for those empowered to act according to procedures outlined in the Code of Canon Law and specific norms spelled out in “Sacramentorum Sanctitatis Tutela”.
Cardinal Viganò has fired the first shot. Now the old men gather their vestments and walk carefully into the Hall for the assembly of Factions. Eyeing each other to glean which man is the enemy. A sclerotic final wheeze before Last Rites.
4
The pope sounds like Rex Tillerson. He would not dignify them with a response. Similar to when asked if he called President Trump a moron. The pope is playing politics. Sex crimes against children are worse than calling a president a moron.
7
I don't like this guy either. He is going to destroy this church. It is about time looking at him dressed in women's clothing.
1
I write this yesterday, before reading this article
Conservatives often argue by killing the messenger, suggesting the well is poisoned. No conservative, I believe the well is poisoned, as evidenced by the media to whom he published the letter. It is also, apparently, anti-Christian as a way of loving God and neighbor.
Here is what I wrote yesterday:
Ambassador Archbishop Vigano gave away that his attack on Francis was more political than devout a) by releasing it when the Pope was "out of Town" dealing already with the problem [he was piling on]; b) by releasing it publicly to his conservative friends rather than generally c) and having a history of nominating selectively American Bishops who conformed more to the Tridentine church than to pastoral service.In my recollection, he was the one who funneled that anti-gay marriage Kentuckian into a meet-and-greet with Pope Francis--sneakily.
Is there a culture of homosexuality in the upper echelons and the Vatican for which the Pope needs to be chastised? I have no idea. A letter from a known Conservative to his Conservative friends does not seem the Christian way to handle it.
6
We not only need to look closely at the Catholic Church, but we need to examine all churches and the belief system itself. In the near future, we will program the human mind in a computer, and from this we will see how the brain operates on a "survival" algorithm and how we have tricked that program with our ridiculous beliefs about what exactly is supposed to survive. When we come to understand the destructive effect of all beliefs, we can begin the long road back to reason.
See: RevolutionOfReason.com
6
While I have my problems with Francis looking as an outside observer and what to me seems like his reluctance to truly take action to change the Vatican and the culture of "Dieu et mon droite" in the church leadership, it is not surprising that a conservative Catholic of the JPII wing of the church would be trying to blame Francis and his 'liberalization".JPII took the church strongly backwards and when the abuse crisis hit, they blamed the crisis on "homosexuals" (furthering their contention LGBT people are the equivalent of child molestors), they blamed it on 'the culture of the sexual revolution" (when as has been seen, the abuse predates the 1960's by a long, long time), and basically refused to punish those responsible. Apparently McCatrick's abuses were well known, but JPII appointed him archbishop, and anyone remember dear old Cardinal Law? The idea that this is about 'liberalization' is ridiculous, the fact is that much of the abuse happened, especially in Ireland, with "Solid Conservatives" in charge; and solid conservatives are the ones who insist on keeping the Church as a top heavy hierarchy, secretive, the Irish Bishops who oversaw the Magdalene laundries, the orphanages, the schools and the priests who abused were not liberals. If Vigano really wants to point fingers then he should at JPII (who basically did nothing) and Benedict (double secret probabtion for McCarrick? Really?). The reality is the Vatican will do little or nothing,bet on it.
5
One course of action, Vignano, is if you know about a crime you call the cops. This flap is about the goofy idea that the Church should be small and consist of holy people who do not need spiritual instruction or God's forgiveness, being, like Vignano, pure. Francis' apparent idea is that the Church should be hugely inclusive, "a field hospital for the spiritually wounded". The sanctimonious pure need an exclusive country club. The rest of us need help.
2
Don't give them your MONEY. It's the ONLY thing they understand and the only thing that will spur changes. Seriously.
16
What a den of vipers. The palace intrigue of this organization reads like a Machiavellian case study, and no wonder. Again and again, we see evidence that the Catholic hierarchy needs to be demolished, and rebuilt from the laity upwards. Priests can keep their divine rites, but they need to give up their management roles and hand these over to lay people. Furthermore, the physical headquarters in Rome needs to be eliminated and distributed worldwide. There is simply too much distance between Rome and other countries. The conservatives who are attempting this palace coup on Francis probably fear these actions more than anything, because they will mean an end to their charmed lives, and will risk open warfare to prevent it. They're not dumb; they see the forces of history coming for them.
19
Vigano is just throwing stones and has no proof. Under this pope there has been more exposure than ever. Lets see how he handles it before tossing him out.
9
Vigano is just another autocrat hoping to catch a devolving wave in today’s repressive current, like others, in the name of God.
10
@Q " Just what we need: angry, vindictive priests, directing their hate against gay people. "
This would appear to be a typical maneuver by the likes of Bannon who is Vicano's ally in the situation. That being said, If the Pope's behavior is confirmed to be complicit in any way, shape, or form, resignation would be the only option. Francis may be a nice guy trying to incrementally "advance' the monolithic "church" for "the better", but if he supported McCarrick in any way, he will have lost all credibility with the people anyway.
The entire process should ultimately have a cleansing effect on the Church which has always had a tendency to follow one step forward with five backward. They who have exalted themselves are now being humbled.
3
Oddly, the Conservative voices in the church need only look back at the Conservative popes in charge when the abuse became rampant. John Paul II, and Benedict. Look no further. To blame Pope Francis for the neglect of his predecessors is a grave misunderstanding of what has been going on in the church for generations.
15
I think the “abuse became rampant” about 2000 years ago.
9
@Bill B., the sexual assaults by Catholic clergy that have been investigated in the US and elsewhere became well known during the papcy of John Paul II. But, consistent with what you've said, the 70 years of criminal behavior investigated by a Pennsylvania grand jury started lomng before John Paul II, during the papacy of Pius XII (1939-1958). This was the Church that today's Catholic "conservatives" pine for. And those priests who assaulted children and young people 50 or more years years ago were in many cases trained in seminaries, and inhabited a clerical culture, that was formed even before Pius XII reigned as Pope. It is that clerical culture -- the view that priests are "men apart," unlike those in the pews on Sundays -- that lies at the heart of the decades (or centuries?) of episcopal cover-ups of criminal acts.
5
The third to last paragraph of this story says the pope said until this visit to Ireland "'he had never heard' about Ireland's notorious mother and baby homes..."
It is actually the most startling revelation in this story about the sinister forces in the Vatican tearing apart the pope's church.
To that said about the mother-child homes makes the pope aa liar or a fool -- or both.
The whole world knows about those terrible places -- a great movie about them was seen by a wide audience just a few years ago -- and about the terrible church that condemned generations of young Irish women to them, then kidnapped and sold their children (well when you take a child from its mother and give the child to people of great means who in turn make huge monetary donations to the church what else is the practice but kidnapping and baby selling?).
Hard to know now which is the greatest scandal confronting the church but add to it a pope who effectively proclaimed he has been deaf, mute and blind to the greatest sin of his church in Ireland.
He condemned himself with that statement that puts a lie to his humane church.
18
Honestly, it is time for this organization to die. They have had plenty of chances, but they do not change. Enough with the abuse and lies.
11
If the Catholic Church was a secular institution, it would be banned from most civilized countries. For centuries the church's s behavior has been more akin to an organized crime operation than a respected religion.
10
Clearly the Archbishop should be excommunicated. We've got the best Pope since JP II. Sounds like Carlo is a Trump supporter.
5
The Catholic Church is an international criminal organization. Its priests who have sexually abused children and others and its leaders who have covered it up and passed the problem to different parishes need to be criminally prosecuted and jailed. The organization itself and all its international legal entities need to be criminally prosecuted and when convicted, get shut down like Arthur Anderson was after the Enron scandal.
Believers can still believe in God and the real teachings of Jesus. A new Church be re-established based on reforms to the old. Or people can join other Christian denominations.
10
How can the pope claim ignorance of the scandals in the Irish church? What planet has he been living on that he didn't know about the 'homes' for unwed mothers, the forced labor laundries, the hundreds of babies buriend in secret? His supposed ignorance is all the more appalling because it can only be intentional on his part.
17
As a Protestant, this is just more evidence of why we reject the claim of the Roman Catholic church to be the one true church. This is not the behavior of a moral and Christian institution. These scandals have enveloped the Catholic church for centuries and only seem to be getting worse. The Catholic church claims that they have gotten better since 2002. Child molesting wasn't a crime before 2002? If priestly celibacy is so necessary, then why was the first pope married? Read Matthew 8:14-15 for the healing of Peter's mother-in-law.
This is a shame for the victims. They will live with this forever. It is also a shame for those Catholic people that I know in everyday life who are moral and virtuous and Christian despite their church instead of because of it.
11
I hate to say it, but your position is almost identical to the Donatist heresy. Which, by the way, is also condemned by most Protestant churches.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donatism
It has always been the case that the validity and efficacy of the Church is independent of the worthiness of its individual members. We are all sinners, and it is pointless trying to pretend otherwise.
(That said, child abusers definitely have no place as ordained clergy, certainly not in direct contact with children or youth, and should be dealt with in civil courts wherever feasible.)
2
@John Grantham Over the centuries, people opposed to the corruption of the Roman Catholic church have been accused of Donatism. And as a Protestant, the only sacraments that I believe in are baptism and Holy Communion, the only two mentioned in the Bible. And were my pastor to become a felon, those he baptized and administered communion to would have still received the sacrament. My argument is with the institution of the Roman Catholic church itself. Your charge of Donatism against me is untrue, if well intentioned.
@Ron Wilson
Ron Wilson - if you are a protestant as you claim, are your working to block Donald J Trump's appointment of a far right Roman Catholic Brian Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court? Mr. Kavanaugh's appointment to the SC will make a 66% Roman Catholic majority on our most powerful, long lasting, and, indeed, "sacred" source of justice in the United States - the Supreme Court.
Six of nine Roman Catholic Justices will constitute a 14th century Inquisition against women and homosexuals in America.
Appopinting Brian Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court is why Paul Ryan and Mitch McCononell keep denying the truth about the Trump-Russia collusion to gain the presidency in 2015 and 2016. Interesting, Putin has also taken Russia back to anti-woman Eastern Catholicism. Catholicism never stops trying to take over the World. Putin even does one or two weeks of "penitence" every year in a Greek Monastery which forbids all females, including milk cows and female goats.
Religion is the root of all evil. Religion is the spawn of the lust for power and money.
1
"If Pope Francis took your advice and was to step down, who would take his place?" someone asked his accuser, Carlo Maria Viganò.
"Well, if no one else wants the job, says Viganò, I suppose I would have no choice but to fill the papacy vacancy."
2
There is no doubt over the fact that the conservative wing of the Church is unhappy with the direction started by the Pope. Viganò has been against him from the start, and the charge of cover-up is a good arm to undermine Francis. Since this has been a problem from the Middle Ages on, the charge can be leveled at any time and against ever Church leader. What is important is how Francis will react to this undoubted crisis and what measures he will institute.
10
I would love to walk into my job one day and my boss or client asks me a difficult question and I say - “I will not say a single word about this,”
This is not leadership - this is spineless and guilt ridden behavior
This is not taking responsibility for anything - this is passing the buck- this is avoidance - this is self preservation in the face of suffering they have caused
Throw them all out and dissolve the church to the people
Sell all that stuff in the Vatican and really help the abused with a dividend for their suffering
10
@DMB
So an employee, someone who works FOR YOU, publicly stabs you in the back, and you think *that* is acceptable?
Francis should demote Vigaro to cleaning the scullery for the rest of his time on earth, perhaps that silver spoon Vigaro was born with will loose some of it's luster.
3
@DMB
"Sell all that stuff in the Vatican and really help the abused with a dividend for their suffering."
Yes, but - well, maybe not all of it...and maybe not sell.
Some of "that stuff" was made by believers who were in the employ of the Church, and some of those believers were radicals and truth-tellers. Michelangelo labored uncounted hours lying on his back in order to elevate undraped humanity to the very dome of the Sistine Chapel, rendering, recreating and reclaiming the story of the Creation not clothed in shame but revealed in beauty.
Is that speaking truth to power, or is it not?
Maybe instead of selling stuff, why not split the Vatican into religious and secular wings: church and museum, and use the revenue from both to alleviate suffering and poverty?
Just wondering...
@Paul P.
Absolutely - it should be an efficient market of accusations without fear of retribution
See - you think in terms of loyalty and not ethics or truth
If someone calls me out up or down the chain for being wrong in a coverup or screw up it should be heard - and at my company it does
That’s the concept of whistleblowing - We’d still be teaching our children to smoke or going to Nassar at U of M or ingesting lead from gasoline or supporting Enron if not for whistleblowers.
Francis got caught - and didn’t reply
This is the real existential threat to the Church; that these conservative 'Catholic' outlets speak out as though they have some authority equivalent to the Pope's. A significant portion (it seems to be a majority) of Church leadership in the US are complicit (and join in) with these conservative voices to divide the Church.
Church politics has a parallel with politics in America. The GOP had handed over control of its message to the conservative media.
The difference with the authority of the Pope lies in our teaching, our 'constitution'. The Pope is selected through the intercession of the Holy Spirit to be the Vicar of Christ on earth. As Catholics, up to and including the position of Cardinal, we may disagree with the Pope's message, but we have no standing when we question the Pope's authority.
The anti-Pope conservative Catholic media may have an opinion, I have every right to oppose and see a real threat in that narrative. That movement has a very large following among my fellow Catholics, and may well be the dominant portion of the remaining churchgoers.
The future of the Church is the more merciful Church of Pope Francis.
17
By Pope Francis asking for forgiveness he makes it clear that neither the Catholic Church nor he understands the psychological sequelae of sexual abuse. Forgiveness is the very last step in a victim’s healing process. To ask that forgiveness precedes accountability to civil law is just another form of abuse.
9
The buck stops here! Apologies are easy, DO something.....
4
@benny I think, given Evangelical support for the President, it would be more fun to be a Protestant since one would be free of the constraining effect of having a moral Center.
Which is worse - that Francis didn't know about the abuses of women in Ireland, or that he feigned ignorance? The truth about the Magdalene laundries has been an outrage - not only in Ireland - for many years, the subject of media coverage and films; the story of the hundreds of baby bodies discarded from the Tuam mother-and-baby home has been front-page news all over the world.
Does not this pope discuss with his cardinals critical matters affecting the church in their respective districts? If not, why not? Doesn't he read newspapers? Doesn't the Vatican press office cull news stories that affect the church's public image for the information of "management," as would any corporation with a concern for its image (as clearly this one has)?
While this letter by the former Vatican diplomat is making headlines, far more significant was the gathering in Dublin of thousands of people under the banner "Stand4Truth" in solidarity with Irish victims of clerical violence, abuse and silencing. Afterward there was a march to the site of the last Magdalene laundry to close - in 1996. The Irish came out yesterday to show how people take back their voices, their dignity, their spirituality, their lives, and their country from a corrupt and oppressive institution.
13
@Olenska No. Being a news and pop-culture junkie isn't part of the job.
1
@Catherine: So let me understand - in your view, the deaths of the babies in Tuam and the abuse of women in the laundries constitute "pop culture"? Did I actually understand you to mean that? Astonishing.
This scandal pre-dated Francis when the conservative faction of the Church was in power. This is a not so thinly veiled attempt by the conservative aspect of the church to regain power - shamelessly using the child sex abuse scandal - to oust a Pope they don’t like. As always, Catholic Church leaders setting great examples. For the first time in a long time, a Pope is in charge who actually does what Jesus would do and not suppress people like the arch conservatives of the church.
27
@RMC
Nope. Scandal pre-dates the "conservative" too.
1
Medieval organization without credibility. Can't figure out why it still exists.
9
First, Vigano was a Ratzinger crony. Ratzinger was infamous for defending and protecting abusive priests and those who covered up their crimes, including giving some like Bernard Law of Spotlight fame cushy postings in Rome. (The Case Against the Pope by British human rights lawyer Geoffrey Robertson.)
Second, the very doctrinaire members of the Vatican establishment who served under Ratzinger despite Francis for being too "liberal." (This is hilarious for anybody in the Vatican, but okay...) They can't kill him; they've already done that (In God's Name by British investigative journalist Peter Yallop), so they have to do something to silence him, and this is what they figured would work.
I don't have a dog in this fight, having left the church years ago. But I would take anything a Ratzinger crony said with a huge grain of salt.
27
@Janet: Ratzinger gave Law a cushy post in Rome - but Francis let him keep it, and the palazzo, and the invitations to the U.S. Embassy's July 4th receptions where he swanned around like a dignitary. And Francis offered a benediction at Law's funeral, praying for a "merciful" final judgment for this criminal and enabler of pederasts. They're all the same; it's just the public image that differs.
3
Words, prayers, pleas for forgiveness and the abuse continues. They mean nothing. Where is the action?
5
Having been a practicing Catholic during my youth and even into my college days, I always knew there was something wrong with the Catholic Church and especially its teachings. The archbishops who drove around in stretch limos visiting the faithful at the local churches. Just look at the real estate the Catholic church owns in this country. I wonder what St. Patrick’s Cathedral would go for. Sell all of it and give the money to the poor
Those who run the Catholic Church are just business executives living off the donations of the well intentioned faithful. Much like a corporation that lies to its customers and stockholders. The difference is we have government agencies to monitor corporate behavior. Lets call it consumer protection.
His “Holiness” can issue all the apologies he wants. The Catholic Church is a fraud built on centuries of lies and deceit. The solution to the abuse and other Church problems is to stop donating. Cut off the Church’s main source of income and it is out of business. Unfortunately, that will not happen. The mindless faithful will keep showing up on Sunday and placing their dollars in the basket and writing the checks at Christmas.
I do like the way the Vatican “diplomat” in the article called for the pope’s resignation. Like a corporation’s Board of Directors calling for the president and CEO to resign.
8
@George Young
In reference to the "stretch limo" opulence you identified. I recall the priests driving late model cars while the nuns shared one beat up old station wagon. The priests lived in a lovely craftsman style home while the convent was a red brick box. Even the groundskeeper lived better than the nuns in a small country cottage on church grounds.
What a racket.
Pope Francis is more likely to take action than Viganò. I don't trust him at all.
7
@George Young: The Catholic church also owns a priceless art collection worth billions..Each child abused by a priest should receive a million dollars each, but I'm sure the church will cry poor-mouth.
2
It is overdue for Catholics to join the Protestant Reformation. In its name it calls all to protest the abuses of the Catholic Church then as well as now.
5
When a church values its traditions over its parishioners, it ought not be surprised and dismayed when the parishioners go elsewhere. Evidently the conservatives have concluded that some Christians are more deserving of God's words and forgiveness than others. So much for that bit about not judging others.
3
Too much is being made of the motive behind the accusation. Isn't the important aspect whether the allegation is true or not?
The Papacy is surely a fine keeper of records. Let's have those records opened.
2
As a child I believed in the Catholic Church. As an adult I learned that humans, um, make stuff up. Sometimes on a very grand scale. Case in point, our current President. And, although Pope Francis hasn't changed my perspective, he has reminded me that even made-up stuff can lead to good things. Pope Francis has come to the aid of climate change science and is against the death penalty - both honorable stances. On a grander scale, one might even posit that Christianity provided the foundation for our success as a democratic nation. Whatever the case, none of this absolves the church of it's collective sex crimes and subsequent cover-ups. Vigano certainly has an ax to grind, so we can't trust him. But we should be concerned that Pope Francis has only played lip service to the Church's crimes. We need concrete, earth-shattering change in the Catholic Church. In short, we need for the Church to come out of the Middle Ages. Let women be priests and let all priests marry. Otherwise, change will not occur.
18
This reactionary internal Church politics represented by Vigano is reminiscent of the Borgias. It is ignorant and self-serving to conflate homosexuality with sexual abuse by people in authority over people under their control. Many of them are child molesters, NOT homosexuals. Powerful prelates (all male, of course, in the Catholic Church) are equal opportunity abusers of both secular males and females of all ages as well as novitiates, nuns and priests.
22
@Dennis Naughton
The issue is not over homosexuality but over sexual assault.
7
@Michael Anasakta
Vigaro explicitly tried to make the weak, wrongheaded excuse for predator priest: that it is the fault of Homosexuals.
The fact the priest predate the 'coming out' of the Gay Lobby is lost on these weak, venial men.
Viganò is a right wing political opportunist. I hope the pope sacks him.
19
OK, so, let's say Pope Francis knew about the sex abuse and cover-up's---what is he or any sitting Pope going to do about it---sexual depravity is baked into the Priesthood and the institutional church. If the Pope started to pull at the thread of celibacy and women's role in the church centuries old dogma begins to unravel---and who knows where that unraveling would end. The only avenue open to the Pope are bureaucratic responses, which, each day look more and more like what they are---a cover up. This strategy, however, will continually erode the mythical frameworks that ground the Catholic faith and provide the solace that religious beliefs systems provide their followers. What the Catholic church needs now is Luther like reformation, but, this faith is too old and too slow for that possibility to happen.
6
@ACJ
It isn't so much that sexual depravity is baked into the Vatican and priesthood, in a sense that is a red herring for the real problem, what is baked into the Vatican and church hierarchy is a top down structure whose fundamental belief is that to maintain power, they have to cover up any blemishes, and cling to that, despite the fact that they have already destroyed large swaths of the church. JPII reversed Vatican II, which was supposed to reform the church, and turned the US Catholic church into a church obsessed with sexuality, where being Catholic was turned into being anti gay and anti abortion and other issues around sexuality and reproduction, while ignoring their political "allies" who preached the Church gospel in defending their stands on gays and abortion, but then did everything they could to hurt the poor and powerless while engorging the rich. What it all comes down to is not gospel or living into the faith, but power, their obsession with sexuality was supposed to bring them power and authority with their alliance with the political right, but it ended up driving people away who saw the hypocrisy. It is why I don't think the church will really do anything, issuing bureaucratic announcements or making rules means nothing if you don't upset the apple cart. Companies caught in scandal who don't fire their leadership generally fail because then there are no reasons to do the right thing, consequences need to be real.
3
IF Pope Francis knew, Benedict, every member of the College of Cardinals, and every Bishops down to the parish rectors were co-conspirators. There is a paper trail of communications and money. This 50 years of international abuse was kept secret with financial & political payoffs to people in and outside the church to cover up or turn the other way.
And the same church "leadership" hid behind the church's single minded attacks on women and the gay human rights as a tools of distraction. Sadly, just as true for conservative churches and political "leaders" and institutions in the U.S. Rules are selectively used as weapons against the weak to keep power.
Authentic moral leadership would drop all legal obstacles and use their immense wealth to compensate all victims who lives have been destroyed.
Sermons could go back to being given on a hill top.
12
Deeply disappoint in Francis would be an understatement. He “never heard of the forceD adoptions” until he visited Ireland this week! The atmosphere of guilt was created by the “media”. Who is his PR and morality adviser? DONALD TRUMP?
Viganò doesn’t sound like a class act either but he is much like a broker clock that is right at least twice a day.
5
@Justice Holmes
Vigano is not right twice a day, Vigano is part of the JPII "Mafia" that was responsible for many of the coverups we are now hearing about, JPII when the abuse crisis hit basically told the Bishops "Make it go away", and when it became apparent their claims that it was because of the sexual revolution, the liberal US, that this happened was a bald lie, the basic response was to circle the wagons and deny everything. The abuses in Ireland were well known long before the reign of Francis, they went back many, many decades, and JPII and his henchmen certainly knew about it. The real problem is even assuming that Benedict meant what he said about the abuses, or assume Francis is truly repentent, they are the head of a machine that is so full of rot and power fiefdoms that nothing can happen. It is funny, the USSR and the mafia in the US both patterned themselves after the Vatican in terms of structure of their central power structure, and both fell apart for much the same reasons that the Vatican is, the very culture that once made them thrive destroyed them.
1
All church hierarchies are corrupted by the centralized authority they claim and use. The willingness of the sheep to fund these wolf/shepherds has created a wasteful bureaucracy that robs any good organized religion can claim and replaces it with the worst of human nature. This is true not only of the catholics and their royal Rome, but also the Anglicans and their phony government-sanctioned drama that has played out for centuries now. Is there anything more reduuculous than the centuries of Rabbis parsing over the interpretations of ancient texts as if they are contributing anything to the human condition. Like warfare, it is all a male dominated distortion of whatever they claim their messiahs intended.
16
The Real Housewives of Vatican City.
No one can possibly believe in the purported "holiness" of the priestly vocation at this point. Clearly, the priests themselves don't.
Time to step back and let the current Catholic Church sink into its own morass of lying, backbiting, power-hungry, greedy criminality. Perhaps something better, more Christ-like, can arise from the ashes.
But this bunch will never love their neighbors as themselves.
17
@Shar. That’s the major problem with holiness—it can be self-declared. Vigano sure seems holier than me, in this self-declared sense.
1
Really, he didn't know about the unwed mother scandal? If true, where has he been living the past 20 years.? That is am impossible statement to believe.
8
casting stones at personal enemies is the worst of human traits and of this I find the Archbishop Guilty.
4
I'm guessing that Francis has warned both the far right and left within the Vatican that he will resign if they don't reach agreement on meaningful action in response to the current scandal.
That threat, if delivered on, would trigger a grassroots civil war, and possibly a separatist reformation movement.
2
'Instead on Sunday’s flight, he blamed the media for promoting an “atmosphere of guilt” around suspected clerics and shared that until his visit he “had never heard” about Ireland’s notorious mother and baby homes, where children were ripped away from unwed mothers.'
Unbelievable. If true, then this man is completely out of touch — and out of his depth.
17
One can only suspect that Times editors want to have their cake and meanwhile eat it, rather like Alejandro Inarritu with the fictionalized chop-and-stab climax in his rendition of the tale of Hugh Glass ("The Revenant") -- contra the theme of his valorized Native American elder, "Revenge is in the hands of the Creator." The Times headline writer/s persists into the second day of this story online with the most salacious of Enquirerish headlines, "Pope Francis Long Knew of Cardinal’s Abuse and Must Resign, Archbishop Says." The third sentence of the body text contravenes the claims against Francis in Archbishop Vigano's letter: "Its unsubstantiated allegations and personal attacks amounted to an extraordinary public declaration of war against Francis’ papacy at perhaps its most vulnerable moment . . . ."
In the Annenberg PBS series, "The Constitution: That Delicate Balance," media power elites like Dan Rather, Brit Hume and the Des Moines Register top editor, declared that would all willingly contaminate a crime scene by entering it before police arrived. The argument: Our job is to get the story, not these other concerns. Is this amoral officiousness the same policy Jason Horowitz and his superiors at the Times followed, when pondering the downstream consequences of this tabloid treatment? Were they at peace pushing Francis into the path of the oncoming train of widespread retributive anger over priest and bishops' transgressions from decades past?
10
The entire Catholic Church is culpable. I do not expect the Pope to step down, but I do expect him to step up his removal of both those guilty of abuse and those who covered it up. When that job is finished he can step down.
8
The church is designed to make sinners into people who forgive easily and love well. The "people" obviously include the clergy whose vulgar sins are magnified through bad example and whose sins of omission may or may not include a failure to rectify a thousand wrongs.
"Forgive us our tresspassas as we forgive those who trespass against us" is quite different from "forgive us our tresspasses as we make amends to those we have harmed". The church's corp mission is much different from the criminal or civil justice systems of governments.
The church must never (again) become a substitute for government (crusades, inquisition, non-essential moral laws). The church must never be held to higher external standards than any other institution. Catholic hospitals, universities, schools and other charitable institutions need sufficient independence to self-reform and understand a new way of handling scandals that seem to last forever in the information age. Slavery, crucifiction, and all manner of injustice must be put in perspective to find the strength and wisdom to overcome. Homosexuality and sex abuse are nothing new.
1
A church shot through with sexual predatory behavior, and the Big Boss didn't know? Very unlikely. His refusal to give a clear denial speaks volumes. I hope the NYT will keep on this story.
3
Vigano was demoted by Pope Francis and like “conservative” Cardinals and Bishops, want to restore the aristocratic privileges and corruption that caused the widespread sex scandals. It was “conservatives” who coddled abusers and transferred them rather than defrocking them. It was and is “conservatives” who would rather perpetuate pedophilia than “embarrass” the church. It is “conservatives” who oppose forgiveness for the divorced and celibacy which silenced sexually active priests from revealing pedophiles in their ranks.
Pope Francis should excommunicate Vigano as a destroyer of the Church, a liar, a slanderer, and an advocate of Scism.
34
A question that has bothered me ever since he became pope. What did he do to protect the innocent victims of the Argentine Dictatorship who were tortured and killed in the thousands?
2
I can’t speak to Vigano and his allegations against the Pope but one thing is definitely sure…….many in the church are complicit. This has been going on for years and rather than dealing with it directly, the church tried to sweep it under the rug. Not too long ago the Pope defended a Chilean Bishop of sex abuse and many were outraged. It’s a shame, sad and appalling that a place of worship, men of God did not do more to defend the innocent children.
8
The idea that Francis or any pope of recent times was unaware of the homes for unwed mothers, the Magdalene Laundries, in Ireland is either a blatant lie or a stunning display of how much in denial the hierarchy of the church is. The existence of these homes for fallen women was common knowledge; they were run by religious orders.
Get real Francis!
15
@Slim Commander "Fallen women"? Many girls & women were put in these prisons because they were too pretty, disobeyed their parents, had babies due to rape or for just being inconvenient. Yes, some had engaged in sexual activities & some had become pregnant. It didn't take much to end up in one of these Catholic "homes". I'm not surprised that Francis was unaware of the "homes" because they involve girls & women which aren't valued by the misogynistic Catholic Church.
14
@Slim Commander. With all it’s failings, I think the Church lost the title to the Trump Administration!
And what is Vigano guilty of? In this case, better the Devil we know who has some compassion and has been in conflict with the old guard, than this other Devil we know and who gives every appearance of being in cahoots. It's like the Republicans calling for Al Franken to resign--with DJT in power. Let Vigano cast the beam from his own eye.
18
Vigano thinks he's more Catholic than the Pope. He reminds me of our flag-hugging president in more ways than one.
35
This is one of those nasty intra-mural spats where picking sides should NOT be too high a goal.
Yes, the Archbishop who's "blowing Francis' cover" is a pretty virulent homophobe - it seems - and he surely lost some big internal battles and is bitter about that. Moreover, "his gang" clearly liked things more when there were no "contemporary" messages of inclusion or flexibility.
For all that, just as with Trump, you get the feeling that "damage control" has pervaded every decision the Church has made for at least 50 years in connection with the few or many very bad people in their ranks. That is, early on they probably decided that a corporate-style "You're fired" would likely lead to "flipping," whereby Priest X would "rat out" someone higher up, and the extent of the problem/rot might actually imperil THE CHURCH.
They say that it's not easy to turn around an ocean liner, and there's a lot of that in this mess. "Cleaning house" sounds good, and there was an interesting piece last week where a seemingly sane man called for mass resignations - including that of the Pope. I'm sure most of us - Catholics or not - will say "Not gonna happen" about that one.
So - giving him the benefit of a mountain of doubt - the Pope has to pick his spots - encouraging this or that individual to "take early retirement," while leaving a great many people who EITHER "knew" or "should have known" in place, fully aware that victims and other caring individuals will brand this as intolerable.
5
Far be it for me to correct the NYT but he did not apologise he asked for forgiveness. Jesuitical I know, but there is a difference and a distinction to those who have suffered and continue to look for answers and accountability.
The pope met with survivors of abuse on Saturday evening. This was a very good thing. The meeting from the accounts of those there was relatively constructive. However, he appeared not to know about Magdalene Laundries, industrial schools, the Tuam scandal etc. While it is credible that his civil service may not have briefed him properly it is not credible that he does not remember being briefed by Dublin's Archbishop Diarmuid Martin - an excellent man. This shows a complete lack of care and compassion on his part. This is astonishing and hugely hurtful for those impacted by these crimes.
Those who #Stand4truth expect nothing less than a proper and thorough independent commission, run by credible lay people, with no interference from the curia. That is the only way forward. If he does not establish such a commission he is complicit in the behaviour of those who tortured and abused.
13
Archbishop Vigano's ploy seems a throwback to the intrigue of the Borgias -- or, in a more contemporary reference, "The Sopranos." The time has come for a New Reformation within the Roman Catholic Church. Perhaps, it might start with stripping out the word "Roman."
One of my theology professors, a Dominican priest, once told our class that "If we can point to anything in the New Testament that we feel confident in Jesus having said, then the Church does the opposite." It is time for a dramatic change. The late Sister Jose Hobday used to say that the first 800 years of the Church was the age of monasticism, the second 800 was the age of clericalism and the next 800 will be the age of the laity. One can only hope.
6
If indeed Pope Francis knew when he was in South America, it was probably hearsay. I have no doubt at all that Benedict who was for years the most powerful man in the Vatican knew and JP 2 certainly knew. All Bishops and Cardinals in the USA should be investigated by the Justice Department as to what they knew and when they knew it!! Only then can we be sure we have cleaned the nest out. Start at the top here in the States with Dolan and Chaput. Now this Archbishop who has tried to defame Pope Francis is in league with the Ultra Conservative Clerics in the States...such as Dolan and Chaput. He is also friends with Bannon and we all know what and who Bannon is.
30
@Philip W Cardinal Dolan is far from conservative.
1
Powerful orgs. that have god like control over people will never change unless the law steps in like is happening now.
In a way, it reminds me of the baseball drug scandal. Despite obvious abuse, MLB execs., never did a thing up to and including today. It took the Congress several yrs ago and major league baseball writers keeping PED users out of the HOF to finally do something about it.
1
If I have to choose between the word of Pope Francis and Cardinal Vigano, I'll take Pope Francis any day.
72
@Diane Predatory priests agree with you.
3
Vigano was as complicit as any in the upbringing and protection of predators. He has been a Catholic for many years, and no one who grew up Catholic in America or Europe can claim ignorance, or the moral high ground, as Vigano is doing for obviously fatuous and malign intent.
@Diane But the Pope carefully did not deny the charges.
There are 2 separate issues here. The first is the abuse of children. The second is gay clergy. The Church needs to openly address and punish its pedophiles. Its victims deserve justice, and Catholics need to know that it will not tolerate such behavior.
How it handles gays is a different issue. In my view, it's time to examine the demands made on priests. If these demands cannot be met without resorting to untruthfulness and concealment, and they make a mockery of the Church, they are not serving the priests or followers.
7
Although this entire matter is despicable, the conservatives in the church want Pope Francis gone. My money is on the Pope. I don't agree with him on everything and left organized religion when I was old enough to think for myself, but he is a good man trying to do good things. The bishops and Cardinals want their power back. How else can they continue to defraud followers and abuse children?
23
This infighting speaks to the rot at the core of the Catholic Church. It is a hollow tree. 98% of the Church leadership could be gone tomorrow and the world would be better for it. The Church is not without its goodness but unless it dramatically changes it will not last. Let women into the priesthood. Promote transparency. Allow priests to marry.
25
Wow. Superb journalism.
This is truly amazing: You really dig into this and present much-needed nuance to a complicated story. It would have been so easy to do the he-said, she-said approach, but you drill down for the necessary perspective.
I wish this approach would be shared by other news organizations, but even if it was, I'm afraid much of it would be lost on most people.
I confess I am an admirer of Francis, but I also can see his all-too-human failings.
He deserves plenty of criticism, but this is nothing less than a coup attempt by those who blame homosexuality for the church's abuse tragedy.
It has nothing to do with sexual preference.
It has everything to do with power and violence.
Being gay has nothing to do with pedophilia.
And allowing priests to marry won't affect this crime; Marriage is not some type of cure to pedophilia.
Again, Francis is more than deserving of criticism.
But this is about a dangerously misguided attack on not only the church, but the welcoming message of Jesus to everyone.
Thank you, New York Times.
29
Wow! A whole weekend of "thoughts and prayers" followed by a world-class stonewall. This pope is one Appalachian Trail away from being a US Congressman.
7
Though these scandals could be seen as a sad time for the Roman Catholic Church, I think it’s a call for another reformation. The RCC needs to go back to the fundamentals of its traditions and clean up those unbiblical principles and teachings they hold onto so fastidiously —celibacy as number one, the idolatry and false teachings, which they have gotten away with for centuries in order to maintain an identity, and made possible by congregations unwilling or too complicent or trusting to search for the truth themselves—within the scriptures. The worst is the abuse of children! Golly, there is no excuse for that. Absolutely, no doubt that there is a systemic cover up. The Church’s man-made traditions have been placed over and above the truth - God himself. Hence, the problem is much more than the willingness of the pope and his allies to reach out to gay Catholics, which has infuriated conservatives, or Viganò’s blame of homosexuals for the sex abuse crisis. The pope’s arguement that the “abuse is a symptom of a culture of privilege and imperviousness among priests who value the church’s traditions over its parishioners” has some truth in it. I will also add the hierarchy to the group. The unwillingness to revisit doctrinal errors and traditions and make overhaul changes. Hard to see it happen with mostly white grey-haired men who lead the Church - out to protect their powers. Priests should be better trained - too many mediocrity.
4
Pope Francis seems to understand that they Church is really it's people, and not individuals like the conservative Vigano.
If Vigano doesn't care for the Pope, Christ here on Earth, then he should leave.
The Celibacy Doctrine should go.
12
Actually, while I also think mandatory celibacy should go, it is not the case that any evidence supports the notion that celibacy vows encourage or enable or attract pedophiles. Celibacy is merely a choice. (It is also not in fact universal within the Roman Catholic Church, either. Only for those who are raised in the Latin Rite. Byzantine Rite clergy or coverts can be married.)
It’s no more true than the equally wrong and disgusting charge that pedophilia is linked to homosexuality, which the cardinal tries to perpetuate.
1
As plain as the egg on one's face it is clear to see that this archbishop would rather have someone other than Pope Francis as pope because he does not like Pope Francis's theology.
It reminds me of the bitter relationship between McCain and trump, in that order. Pope and ridiculous archbishop.
Stay strong Pope Francis.
17
If this was any other organisation, other than a religious institution, all it's employees would be under investigation. The management of the organisation would been held accountable to the rule of law and appropriate criminal investigations would have been conducted.
The "pope" should not be due any more protection than the CEO of any other corporation. If the allegations are true he has not only failed in his ethical/religious/ legal duty on every level of accountability but has been complicit in advancing the success of a pedophile to continue his predations.
7
If there is no record of Benedict placing sanctions, why is it Francis who is guilty of not upholding them. This feels like a terrible attempt by the conservative wing of the church to use the moment to hurt the current pope. And they wonder why my generation is leaving in droves.
29
Vigano represents the dark forces of the Catholic Church, and is using the behaviors of others to damn Pope Francis, when Francis is the only person who can lead the Catholic Church back into the light. What is clear is that Vigano hates Francis and his progressive agenda for the Church and for his calling out the hierarchy for forgetting about Christ.
33
In, The Decameron, [1353] Boccaccio's ribald exposé of priests, nuns and other clericals at their sexual best, he relates the story of a Parisian Jew who after visiting the Vatican and observing the debauchery, goes home and converts. When asked why, he tells his friend he figures that if the Church could survive such perversity and corruption "there must be something to it."
Boccaccio wisely refrained from identifying that "something," and naming names.
Today we're getting everything, chapter and verse.
7
I left the Catholic Church decades ago.
It’s over.
Let the everyday Catholics, the lay people who truly care, be allowed to take over. It’s the only way back for this crime and child abuse ridden organization to truly survive.
5
I knew the Catholic Church was corrupt when, as a young girl, I found out I was not allowed to be an altar "boy" because I am female. I've spent the rest of my life wondering how so many people rationalize adhering to a male supremacist religion.
18
No one has done more than Pope Francis to unveil abuse at the Church. This includes financial, political and sexual abuse. He is probably short of what is needed, but he is doing much more than his theocratic predecessors. After all moving a two thousand years mammoth of privilege, superstition, and mass manipulation should be a bit complicated. And Mr. Vigano is now trying to settle part of the score. Let the doer keep doing and beware of those who surface now, but were quiet for most of their lives.
36
Pope Francis likes to silence those who disagree with him as has been witnessed by his removing conservative cardinals and bishops from positions of power. He has done this to Cardinal Mueller, Cardinal Burke and others. He prefers those who share his more liberal views and sees those not being progressive as more of a threat.
I think this latest revelation by Archbishop Vigano should be investigated. These people would not make such statements if there was not a bit of truth to it. This is too serious for the Catholic Church to ignore. The people want to know the truth. They should demand nothing less. The state of the Catholic Church is at stake.
4
@WPLMMT
You have been nothing but high praise for Francis and as soon as Viganò writes this nasty diatribe you abandon your revered Pope Francis.
Why now? Why did Viganò not reveal all when Benedict was pope? He knew what Benedict knew. Why? It wasn't politically expedient.
Viganò and the political machinations that he and his ilk are pulling is exactly one of the many reasons I stay away from the RCC.
Viganò cares less about the children who have been abused and more about ousting all homosexual priests celibate or not. He blames homosexuals for the abuses of the children. Since he doesn't understand basic psychology and human sexuality he is no position to decide these matters.
Adult priests having consensual homosexual relationships has no bearing on the abuse of children. Priests sexually harassing and assaulting other priests is a reportable crime. Neither example rises to the abomination of the pedophilic abuse of children and minors.
This a calculated political move meant to undercut Francis.
Yesterday, a commenter described a letter from the pope to the laity that a time of reckoning was coming. She believed it meant Francis was about to blow the lid off of this entire cesspool. If correct, Viganò is unleashing his wrath to control and prevent this since it doesn't fit his ultra right wing vision of the church. The same right wing that controlled the RCC for centuries and covered up these abuses of power for decades, probably centuries.
3
BMUS,
You have not been reading my comments on Pope Francis. When he deserves praise, I give it, when he deserves criticism, I give it.
I am a practicing Catholic and when my Church does something wrong I call them out on it. You need to read my comments on Pope Francis and the Catholic Church more carefully. I love my Church and hate to see the turmoil it it experiencing now. We are in a crisis and this sexual abuse within the Church must be taken very seriously. We cannot afford any more negative revelations about the Church. Right now it is walking on a tightrope and changes must be made. I want my Catholic Church to survive snd it will if this scourge is erased.
1
@WPLMMT
"I think this latest revelation by Archbishop Vigano should be investigated. These people would not make such statements if there was not a bit of truth to it."
You seemingly accept Viganò at his word that Francis is not preparing to take action or is culpable 100%. Yet you don't question why Viganò waited until now to "expose" what everyone already knows.
I have read all your comments verbatim and between the lines. You over glorify and idolize the RCC. No institution is as perfect as you describe.
I agree Francis has not done enough. I'm not arguing that. I am arguing *IF* anything will be done about this it will be Francis who will get it done.
These abuses have gone on many years, decades, and probably centuries under the auspices of ultra conservative clergy and popes, like Viganò, Benedict, John Paul II and others.
The right wing of the church will not expose this or do enough to set it right. The RCC needs the socialist Francis.
Now after receiving a chilly Irish reception comparatively speaking, now after a once staunch bedrock of Catholicism is turning it's back on the church he's finally getting the message these wounds are deep, chronic, and without any signs of healing. Hopefully he's not only pope enough to fix it but also man enough to fix it.
My best friend Mark was sexually abused by a Catholic priest at the age of fourteen. This occurred in Fairfield, Connecticut, in 1961. The priest was a notorious pedophile named Laurence Brett and Brett was protected by Cardinal Law. The trauma of sexual victimization was Mark’s undoing. He dropped out of school, became a juvenile delinquent, was put into a mental hospital and then into a prison, where he was killed. His parents tried to sue the Vatican but got nowhere. Despite all these hardships, Mark did have a moment of glory. He played the star role in Zabriskie Point. You can read his story in my book What Rough Beast.
23
Wouldn't most of us boycott a business that engaged in protecting sex offenders? Wouldn't most of us not wish to work for a business that judges others and never itself? What kind of future can such an enterprise have? Faith is different from opinion in that faith knows it lacks the evidence to form an opinion. In my opinion, faith in the Catholic Church to scrutinize itself is a dishonest conclusion based on the evidence.
11
I might as well spit into the wind, but how can any lasting good follow superstitious beliefs which originated in prehistory?
The very first photograph accompanying this article, showing grown, intelligent, well educated men, dressed in symbolic garb cannot be viewed as an adherance to reason.
I have lived my life watching the same acts presented by an ongoing cast of characters, not just these men, but any who don the trappings of any religion. They have been doing it for millenia and still gather followers.
Is the promise of an afterlife, which all major religions tout, no more than a successful tool used by those who seek to control? Is the promise of a hereafter used by those who march men off to war a means to overcome the fear of death?
We will never find peace as long as we live in fear and the Catholic church, like all religions, does nothing, but keep us in that state.
25
@Ian MacFarlane
I left the Catholic Church many years ago, but it was not easy. Guilt followed. However, having effectuated a separation, I was able to explore on my own. Soon I came to realize that I could have a personal relationship with God--minus all the mumbo jumbo which often included writing a check.
4
This article summaries a lot. I glanced at Archbishop Vigano’s letter online. It is clear and straight in its content. On the other hand now, Pope Francis basically says the journalism and civic authority should find the truth to prove it. The unsaid words additionally are ‘if you can’. *** Insidious it would be truly. But in what part? There are crossing layers by gravity, if layers can be crossed over with complications or complicity. The Vatican factional scandal would blur the core under the shadow. *** I’m a Roman Catholic myself. Satan’s advocates (here, Satan not as implicitly Satan, like a real figure, but metaphorically said to be adjustable into modern minds) are ubiquous. Whose entries are sought in human minds. Money, sex, power are one way to describe. Priests are not exempts, which so far is proven.
2
The Catholic Church created it's own mess centuries ago with its continued embrace of beliefs and practices that even Protestants came to see as superstitions.
One of the key precepts of Luther's reformation was "the priesthood of all believers" - and the Roman Catholic insistence that ordination fundamentally changed a man or woman, and thus made it essential to protect them, is what got them into this mess to begin with.
The Church's further insistence on clerical celibacy, something not stipulated in scripture, coupled to its propagation of a homophobic ethos, is what drew so many of Cardinal Vigano's hated homosexuals to the clergy.
Gay people have always existed, and will continue to exist. No amount of praying, genuflecting, and crossing oneself can change sexual orientation. And celibacy is profoundly unnatural, except for perhaps the elderly.
Deal with it - or don't. But stop pretending that a bunch of old men in dresses have a superior notion of what God might or might not want from men and women in the modern world.
All things in this world evolve - all things, including our understanding of religious ideologies. Nothing is set in stone, nothing is infallibly true in perpetuity. No amount of wishing or hoping it be otherwise can change this.
Evolve or perish.
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Matt is absolutely right. The Catholic church desperately needs to reform and evolve to survive. Many Catholics like myself feel that the liberal views of Pope Francis are a step in the right direction, but so much more needs to be done.
Matt is also right on about the issue of celibacy. An important voice in the Catholic church, Franciscan priest Richard Rohr from Holy Family parish in Albuquerque, recently posted an important statement about this issue on the website for the Center for Action and Contemplation: cac.org. A political food fight and endless blaming is not the answer; real change is.
2
Actually, the idea that ordination is permanent is perfectly logical in Catholic theology. Baptism is considered irreversible by all mainline churches because it is considered a sacrament.
The difference with Luther was that he believed there to be only two sacraments, Baptism and Eucharist, though sometimes when pressed he would also include Confession. Catholics, however, hold to seven sacraments, based on traditions in the early Church that predate the codification of the Bible. Ordination is one of the seven. And sacraments are always irreversible by definition.
This is not unique to Roman Catholics, either. Anglicans/Episcopalians, Old Catholics, and the Orthodox see it almost exactly the same way. For them, ordination is permanent. Even some Lutherans like those in the Church of Sweden agree.
As to celibacy, actually it is only in the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church where it is technically required — and it is not even universal there. Former Anglican priests or Lutheran pastors who convert and join the Latin Rite are reordained and allowed to stay married, while remaining active as clergy. (They may not become bishops, but can become cardinals, like John Henry Newman did.) The Anglican personal ordinariates created by Benedict XVI allow married priests, too. The other 23 particular churches in the Pope‘s communion also all allow married priests, as do the Orthodox.
1
@Matthew Carnicelli Well said. Clericalism and the elevation of Bishops, Archbishops, Cardinals and all "religious" as a superior class within the Church must come to an end. This practice has fostered a culture of secrecy and self-protection. Enough.
1
This is going to come down to the conservatives in the Vatican against those around the world demanding reform. I see a schism on the horizon. And the schism will come down to a battle over the Church's assets and property. It won't be a pretty sight. I'm afraid the Vatican conservatives outnumber reformers.
What the Church needs: the end of the all-male clergy; the admission of homosexuals into full participation in the church, including the priesthood; the end of the ban against marriage for priests, male or female, heterosexual or homosexual; full transparency about the church's finances; and full collegiality in decision-making in financial and non-theogical matters. On matters of theology, a prioritization of Jesus' teachings that compassion and sharing are to be our way of life. No more of the theological mumbo-jumbo doctrines which, after all, developed historically to protect the church's assets against rivals.
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@farhorizons "...the schism will come down to a battle over the Church's assets and property. It won't be a pretty sight. I'm afraid the Vatican conservatives outnumber reformers."
This has crossed my mind, too. Such schism will come down first where the most money and assets are, and where much of the Vatican's money comes from - in the US. Let the reactionaries triumph and think they are the True Church - their destiny will be infamy.
Jesus' Church Community will again become like seeds and yeast, just like Jesus tells in the parables. Nourishing Soil, Rising Bread - Food Shared. House of the Poor (Hebrew: Beth-Ani), Bethany.
It's this precious, and vulnerable, "chiesa povera" of which Francis spoke just days after his election. It's the truly evangelical, i.e. gospel-spirited community, not the vindictive, excluding, all-male-moneyed-powerful cult masquerading as "church".
No longer "The Rock" (Petros/Petrus/Peter) only. But also Hagia Sophia Dancing/Divine Wisdom/New Creation. Divine Love Creating in and through every being. Which is the Divine Name: I Am.
Earliest Christian traditions cast aside by what became the Petrine Church (this now universally accepted by many scholars) are being brought back into where they belong since the beginning.
So, if it's a schism: so be it. New green shoots break open the crusted, dead soil, toppling the fruitless and dead trees.
"See, I am about to make something new. Don't you see [get] it?" Isaiah 43:19
That would be the Episcopal church.
1
Sounds like pure politics that the so called "US diplomat" thinks the Pope should step down". Why doesn't Vigano step down. It appears that his diplomat style like things just the way they were for a long, long time. Pope Francis is the first one to at least address the issues.
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You are so right. This is just a conservative Catholic clergy’s vendetta against a more liberal Pope. Where was this Cardinal while previous conservative Popes allowed for this to happen for years?
10
This in fighting is an attempt to undermine Pope Francis. My vote is with Pope Francis. The Pope is an inspirational leader and a breath of fresh air. The Bishops are dark villians. That's how I see it as a Catholic in my youth.
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You think he should be asked to explain his role in massacre of 20,000 young people in Argentina in early 80,s by the military when he was the Cardinal. The mothers and grandmothers of the abducted ones who gather every Sunday in the town square looking for answers never ever ask or associate Pope Francis with this tragedy.
How is that for a PR job?
ps, one more thing, I have never heard a single parent ever going to police to lodge a complaint
their child has been molested, what makes them so docile?
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What is abundantly clear is that the conservative side of the church wants Pope Francis out so they can go back to business as usual, preserving the church at all costs and making money - and continuing the rape. The Bishops and lower knew about abuse and treated it as business as usual.
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The fact that the likes of Steve Bannon and Vigano want Pope Francis out is reason enough to know he should remain as Pope.
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@Trento Cloz, Amen!
Isn’t the timing just incredible that days after the grand jury report from PA and while on a papal visit to Ireland to celebrate families, Vigano issues his letter implicating Pope Francis in the cover-up of McCarrick’s past? Vigano, who has no vested interest in wanting to see the Pope step down, except for his vehement dislike of his outreach to all and his demotion after the Kim Davis incident. This individual has no credibility and more importantly has issued a 16-page letter with no proof. He’s an opportunist who sees a chance to steer the church away from being open, kind and Christ-like to being a closed, cold and ritualistic masculine enclave. The only chance I see for the institution of the church surviving this crisis is with Pope Francis at the helm, not Vigano and company.
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@Donna Loftus There is little hope for the Catholic Church. The Pope prayed for Cardinal Law to have a merciful final judgement and get into Heaven. The Pope is still protecting the Bishops and Cardinals who have covered up the sex crimes of the clergy.
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If you read Vigano's statement, however, he attributes the whole problem of the Catholic Church to a secret cabal of evil homosexuals and he plainly says what needs to happen is for a purge of 'homosexualism' and a return to some gilded age of priestly celibacy that never existed - very little mention of child abuse or the other atrocities.
Not only is this never going to happen, it completely misses the point. Any system that operates on unquestioned, unaccountable privilege will automatically be abused, whether priests are allowed to marry or not.
When that system is also based on forbidden and taboo concepts of sexuality, you are automatically going to invite abuse from men whose own sexual attitudes to these taboos is confused, ashamed and thrilled in equal parts.
Vigano is just trying to protect the machine by insisting on pointing the finger at individuals, not the system - but as it is currently constructed Catholicism is a system that guarantees abuse.
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@Jon
Seems very similar to Trumps “deep state” in the FBI! Conspiracy theorists certainly lack originality!
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@Jon...
The John Jay College Of Criminal Justice was hired by the Catholic Church to investigate the Churches history of pedophilia in an in-depth multi-year study. They concluded that Gay priests were and are no more likely to abuse children than Straights priests.
This is because pedophiles do not differentiate by sex or gender. They don't care what the sex or gender of the child is... what they eroticize is the childness of the child. Sexual orientation doesn't matter... what matters is access. Jerry Sandusky is married man who is not a closet homosexual. He is simply a pedophile who was unfortunately given access to naked young boys.
Although the Catholic Church has a long history of abusing females most pedophile priests tend to have more access to young males so therefore young males tend to be their victims. These craven conservative priests know all about results of the John Jay study. They are simply engaging in the kind of degenerate mendacity which has allowed the rape of children by the Catholic Church to go on for so long.
The fact that they would be so willing to bare false witness and homophobically exploit this tragedy within the Church for their own political gain simply clarifies for all the extent of the pervasive evil within the Catholic Church.
1
Hypocrisy is no more acceptable to the faithful than it is for the non-faithful...Priest, Bishop and Cardinal Bergoglio served in Latin America, a land of priestly abuse that may top Ireland, before becoming Pope Francis.
1
As a practicing Catholic, I read Vigano's statement and I watched a short video of an in-flight press conference in which a journalist questioned Pope Francis about the veracity of Vigano's claims.
His response was elusive.
I am hoping this is because he wanted to get back to Rome to confer with other Church authorities and/or Pope Benedict before addressing the issue with the faithful.
Vigano's claims are very disturbing and clarification from the top is needed.
12
@Ann P. Cardinal Viganò has an agenda. The article mentions Kim Davis time for a photo-op during the pope's visit to the US. I am not sure she is a Catholic, but she was a conservative icon. Another item during that visit was the positioning of the Little Sisters who were during Obamacare about contraceptive coverage. He got fired about these arrangements. He is certainly an well known ideologue.
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@Ann P
Yes. As much as I distrust Vigano, the Pope's response, “I will not say a single word about this,” is very troubling. It's insufficient and we hope he'll say more, forthwith.
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Why is it troubling? He doesn't need to dignify the accusations with a response. These people are nothing but opportunists that want him gone. They hate him. Conservatives hate him because he loves the poor and doesn't hate LBQT. If you're from Philly, listen to Dom on 1210. They hate this Pope and can't wait for him to die, or, maybe, they can make up a story and have him removed. It's so transparent it wouldn't be funny if it wasn't so vile.
17
This popular, charismatic, tolerant, moral and caring pope has greatly expanded the church’s future prospects. He needs to go. The church needs to bring back an extremist, conservative, intolerant and immoral pope so as to reduce its popularity and hasten its demise.
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And the Church officially goes off the rails. What is this? The 1300's?
The continued, consistent problem of predators moving among the flocks is a problem of clerical privilege and a failure of Catholicism to attract enough people - normal people - into the priesthood. It is a failure of the Church to acknowledge the reality that it operates in 2018, not 1418.
And McCarrick being made a Cardinal is a direct result of both the failure to acknowledge his sins, and a failure within the Church to accept change.
Vigano is not upset that the Pope promoted a predator. He is upset that the Pope promoted a moderate. Read everything that Vigano says in the voice of Scar from the Lion King, and recognize it would not be the subject of criticism if McCarrick were a conservative predator.
My message to my Church's leaders - step away for a few minutes, and pull out your Gospels. Read what Jesus has to say about Pharisees. If you don't see yourself in the words, resign. If you do, ask for forgiveness and fix it.
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It seems the hierarchy is all about creating factions and entrenching power. I wouldn't be surprised if there were money at stake too.
It needs to be leveled to make it less political, more accessible and accountable to the people who fill the pews.
Cardinals, bishops and archbishops? Why are they all necessary? How about bishops who operate only at a local level in managing their dioceses?
But with a wealthy international church with one head in Roman and adherents throughout the world, there are all of these players fighting for influence, and they won't give it up easily. That is what is clearly at the heart of this drama, the abuse crisis and the infighting among the top leadership.
9
Perhaps rereading “The Name of the Rose” would remind us that the intrigues within the Catholic Church and its battles for power are not new. Although a fiction, it reflects the intricate conflicts and ideological strife within the Church. But Francis is a decent man, a world leader who is trying to make the Catholic Church more inclusive and attuned to the needs of the 21st Century. The extreme right within the Church is seething with anger at these attempts. As an agnostic who was brought up as a Catholic, I admire the Pope’s efforts to humanize the Church!
122
When Carlo Maria Viganò's allegation was first published last night, it was quite shocking. Then, this seems to be payback time for the reactionary wing of the Catholic Church. And the resignation of Benedict XVI wasn't so innocent after all!
That said, Pope Francis and Cardinal Sean O'malley had a lot of explaining to do. Granted that a lot has to do with their underlings, both are streetwise cleric.
The Catholic Church in America plays a lot of domestic politics. Some even made covert endorsement of Trump back in 2016. Before that, some pressured the Kennedy clan to abandon their liberal stance. So how on earth they didn't know its dirty laundries? And Rome? It protected Cardinal Law of Boston until his death. Yet, sex abuses dated back to the middle of last century. And even many parishioners knew it. But the PA report still takes your breath away.
34
Just what we need: angry, vindictive priests, directing their hate against gay people.
199
Who knew what, and when, is beside the point here. The mega-wealthy Catholic church owes restitution to any and all who were abused by a member of their clergy no matter how long ago. The abuse and cover-up involved is beyond words.
14
Of course he knew. So will his response be another letter? The church leader can only write letters? The Catholic Church is one of the most corrupt institutions in the world.
14
@MB It is so easy to blame an entire religion consisting of 1.2 billion people for the sort of despicable actions that clergy from religions all over the world have committed. As someone raised as a Protestant and today agnostic, I am not a fan of any of the Abrahamic faiths, but I suspect there are at least just as many if not more pedophiles among Evangelists.
These so-call revelations of Archbishop Vigano must be placed in context. All he is actually alleging is that Francis knew of certain "accusations" when Benedict was pope. Fine, he did not buck his hierarchy, which is wrong, even if that would've probably ended his career in the clergy. However, as pope, he is actually doing something about it by working to expose and uproot it from within his church.
In the political world. Harry Truman was earlier viewed as a segregationist, but he became a big supporter of civil rights AFTER he became president.
Mr Vigano and his creed want to reinstall all the anti-homophobia within the church and return to using the Catholic church as a bulward to rightwing extremists. They want the church to return to using a so-called "pro-life" position while promoting the candidates of WAR and HATE. Thanks but I'll take the pope who is working to improve the church and the world today over the Vigano and other bigots who are using this terrible tragedy of pedophile abuse to promote exclusion and hatred!
13
Pope's do not resign as they believed they were selected by God for the position. Apparently the church is becoming political. They selected this socialist pope so they got what they deserved.
4
@Jan
Yet Benedict resigned. Why? Somehow I think Viganò had something to do with it. Maybe he expected to be the next pope but Francis was chosen.
8
@Jan Christ was a socialist. He was extremely clear about that. Why should his supposed representative on Earth be the same? How could he be anything else? In fact Francis is for social justice, which only an American would equate with socialism.
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@Jan
"The church is becoming political."
That's a hoot.
1
This Pope inherited a bad situation and all the rot underneath the Church. But Francis is basically an anti-Trump Marxist who is all for open borders, uncontrolled immigration and the rights of the poor to the detriment of the rich.
15
@Labete. An "anti-Trump Marxist who is all for open borders, uncontrolled immigration and the rights of the poor to the detriment of the rich"? Sounds very close to the positions Jesus would take today. This is the real problem with so many in the Church--they are "Catholic" but not Christian.
6
@Labete
Read the Bible, especially the New Testament. Christ was a socialist, said rich people had little chance of going to Heaven and that the meek shall inherit the earth. Check out stories about how He lived as an itinerant preacher, living on handouts, caring for the poor and sick. Read about the "widows' mite" and the return of the Prodigal Son. He asked for sharing and care for others. Remember the Golden Rule? As for Trump, any thinking truly Christian person is anti-Trump and his self centered attitudes and behaviors.
3
Towards the end of the article, it says that Pope Francis indicated that, until this visit to Ireland, he had not heard of the practice of church institutions there taking children away from unwed mothers.
I'm surprised that he could live in such a small information bubble. Anyone who is in a leadership role in any institution (religious, governmental, educational, corporate, etc. -- from priest to pope and from worker to CEO) should make it a point to seek out information pertinent to it.
A documentary about the Tuam home for unwed mothers was produced several years ago and has been broadcast on TV stations in a number of countries (link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlZAWtQ-rTs). News about its mass grave appeared in prominent articles in newspapers all over the world. Everybody in the Catholic hierarchy should have picked up on this story when it came out, whether they wanted to or not.
Nowadays, there is little excuse in developed societies for not being informed. With internet, you can find out about practically anything that crosses your mind. It just takes a little curiosity, a good search strategy, a few keystrokes, and a good assessment of the credibility of the different sources of information that appear.
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@Jim
I doubt the Pope spends his days on the internet, or even part of them!
1
@Jim The pope lives in a bullet-proof bubble.
While all of this “may” be true, the extreme wing of the church that Vigano belongs to is without any credibility for me to put faith in the accuracy of this report.
121
Enough. If self-righteous arch-traditionalists like Vigano and Raymond Burke are going to continue to wage open warfare against the Pope and to drive the next generation from the church, they need to be kicked out. This is now the second time Vigano and his media handlers have tried to kneecap the Pope while at a major event.
241
@Jack Sounds like the big mucky mucks in the Church are going to burn each other at the stake.
2
@Jack -- Vigano may be as evil as Satan himself. But if his effect is "to drive the next generation from the church," he will have done the best that one could do.
About time, 400 years after Galileo. Turn our attention to reality. Perhaps in time to slow our destruction of conditions of human life on Earth. Maybe even enable our human civilization and species to survive !
1
@Jack In this instance his motives are secondary. What if what he says is the truth?
1
To paraphrase Frances McDormand in “Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri”: they’re all part of the same gang, they’re all culpable.
33
@Minette Actually, you are paraphrasing the screenwriter! And Pope Francis, like John Paul ll, has been a blessing and whiff of fresh air for the Church!
4
As if the child abuse and cover-up wasn't enough, now this embittered opportunist with an agenda is trying to take down the most decent guy in the lot.
340
@Tom J The Pope's not decent; his review panel on child abuse has yet to meet once after several years. The Pope plays a godly man on teevee.
1
@Tom J Tom Let's hear Archbishop Viganò proof in a US Court of Law. If Francis is guilty, he should be punished. If Viganò fails, then Viganò should be punished. In no case should this accusation be ignored.
Yes, I know it isn't going to happen but it should.
1
@Tom J - So Pope Francis is the best one of the accomplices in hiding pedophile priests, and should therefore be spared?
Are you listening to yourself?
Hey NYT, as a non-Catholic who nevertheless sees the Pope as having some significance in the world as a leader, I would like to see some background and commentary on this turn of events. Hard for me to believe an unsubstantiated letter from someone who actually tried to suppress at least one recent (2014) investigation into sex-abuse, is a raging homophobe, and supported Kim Davis . . . this seems more like a Peyton Place drama. What's going on here? Thx!
252
@TSD
What's going on is an attempted Vatican coup. They successfully coup'ed the last Pope, unheard of for centuries. So, they figure they have a chance to do it again. They are all corrupt, at various levels.
It turns out that every priest knew to look the other way and not make waves for pedophiles, and now that they have a smaller Church, but just as rich, we will begin to see infighting for power (and the beach houses, boys and other benis the Church wealth brings).
1
Vigano’s wanted Francis out for years. That said - is the pope asking the Lord’s forgiveness for these respected members of the community raping children, or for the church’s blind adherence to the pedophile-creating dogma of celibacy for priests? Whichever it is, he ain’t gettin’ it. Unforgivable.
17
It is possible that cardinal George Pell was advised to give evidence about his knowledge in Rome - the worst possible place - to get him out of the road. The Vatican must be wheels within wheels, fires within fires. What a place.
1
Oh - a shocking New York Times headline & article to read this morning. If Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò's, allegation that Pope Francis "himself had joined top Vatican officials in covering up the abuses and called for his resignation," is true - - I agree 100% - - Pope Francis must resign.
As parishioners of St. Patrick's Cathedral, it wasn't easy for my wife and I to go to a Mass yesterday because of the ongoing humiliation being reported pertaining to priests world-wide sexually abusing children & seminarians.
The appalling shame our religion has suffered cannot go through another scandalous action if the Vatican hierarchy was complicit in covering up accusations that Cardinal Theodore McCarrick had sexually abused seminarians and that Pope Francis knew about the abuses.
11
@Michael Z I’m begging you to get up and walk out of your institution. Change is going to come from brave Catholics that stand up during mass and walk out. Please make a bold statement. We’re on the edge of a potential reform and I’m afraid the push that’s needed will come from members saying enough is enough and pushing action not words or waiting.
9
@Michael Z, probably every Pope for the past 1000 years has been aware of priestly pedophilia. Let's not blame Pope Francis for all of this. He is at least starting to take control of the issue, though he has a long way to go.
1
It strongly appears that Archbishop Viganò, who was removed from his job as nuncio to the U.S. in 2016, in part for nearly ruining the pope’s trip to the United States by giving papal face time to Kim Davis, the Kentucky clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, is looking for revenge rather than thinking of the good of the Church.
Since a criminal investigation revealed a memo that Archbishop Viganò had written in 2014 in an effort to suppress a church investigation into alleged homosexual activity by the Minnesota prelate, Archbishop John C. Nienstedt, he isn’t as innocent as he would like us to think.
If priests are so dedicated and insist on being celibate, maybe the Church should make it a requirement that anyone who wants to become a priest be castrated. Eunuchs can’t prey on women and children, can they?
170
@KN
“...maybe the Church should make it a requirement that anyone who wants to become a priest be castrated. Eunuchs can’t prey on women and children, can they?”
Surgical castration removes the source, testes, of the male hormone testosterone. Chemical castration uses estrogen, female hormone, to suppress testosterone production. Either might decrease sexual urges but neither will prevent a pedophile from being sexually attracted to children. Castration is not a cure. It is one part of the treatment for pedophilia.
Any object can be used to rape, not only a penis. As a nurse I thought I had heard it all until I volunteered with a rape crisis center. There is no end to some of the things depraved minds can inflict on others.
45
@KN Castration would not help. These priestly predators, like most predators, are slavering not just for sexual release but for Power.
They are drawn to the priesthood precisely because it confers both a right to domination over "the flock", particularly women and children, while at the same time it places them beyond accountability by presupposing some kind of divinity.
If they force sin onto others, whether sexual, financial, the kind of personal attack that Vigano is committing or any other, they hold the secret to that sin. They've exercised power and through that they get more power. That is what they want, and castrating them would only make them feel more removed from humanity, more entitled to control.
What is needed is to strip away the secrecy and entitlement from the priesthood, which I believe is what Francis is trying to do and explains why the power-mad faction represented by Vigano hate him so much.
It must be truly terrible to be a humble, dedicated, honest priest in today's Catholic Church.
3
@KN "Eunuchs can’t prey on women and children, can they?" Well, that's sort of tue. Eunuchs ran the Imperial Court in China, and they looted the place and sold off its contents to get away with loads of cash before the Empire came crushing down. The place was as rife with all kinds of intrigues and scandals as is the Vatican today, which is the Roman Empire in its last very vestige (and dying throes). Absolute power corrupts absolutely. As Archbishop Viganò surely knows well from his own practice...
I trust Francis. I do not trust Vigano ever since the Kim Davis debacle during the Pope's visit to the USA. I resent a prelate like Chaput giving any credence whatsoever to a man like Vigano or his words, which tells me more about Chaput than I even presumed!
111
@vincentgaglione, you said it! I’m disgusted by Chaput, a protege of the odious Vigano.
"Trust me" from a Roman Catholic bishop or pope no longer works.
90
It is absolutely outrageous that the very forces in the church that are fighting tooth and nail to perpetuate a reactionary culture and organizational form that has enabled sexual abuse for a long time are trying to use this scandalous state of affairs to assert their power.
196
@Christian Haesemeyer There's no good guys in this hierarchy.
1
Vigano is like the villainous leader of a cabal in a Dan Brown novel. F.Murray Abraham would have the role down pat in any future movie.
207
@freddi
Agreed. Who would play Steve Bannon? He's a big part of the resistance to Francis.
14