Vatican Cardinal Defends Clergy Abuse Cover-up Claims

Vatican Cardinal Defends Pope Francis in Cover-up Claims

Vatican Cardinal Defends Clergy Abuse Cover-up Claims

Ouellet asks Vigano to better his relations with Pope Francis

Cardinal Marc Ouellet issued a reply to accusations from Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano that Pope Francis played a pivotal role to hush sex abuse issues[/tweetit] within the Catholic Church. Cardinal Ouellet is a Canadian citizen and holds the post of Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.

Vatican Cardinal Defends Pope Francis in Cover-up Claims[/tweetthis]

Vigano, whose list of accomplishments included being the ambassador of The Vatican to the United States, released in August an 11-page letter. He claimed corruption has touched the apex of the church hierarchy.

Cardinal Ouellet published an open letter on October 7 speaking for the Vatican. He refuted Archbishop Vigano’s August allegations of Francis being fully knowledgeable about the abuse and choosing the option to conceal it from the wider world. The letter spanned three pages, and the content was detailed, going on to state Vigano’s allegations are solid grounds for "calumny and defamation." Vigano wrote earlier about how many present and past American church officials, in connivance with the Holy See, protected the many wrongdoings of Theodore McCarrick, former Washington D.C. archbishop. Vigano, a long known baiter of Francis, asked the pope to resign from his post.

The letter written by Ouellet had an individual rebuttal of every allegation that Vigano made. He asked Vigano, who has hidden from church authorities and makes accusations solely via conservative Catholic media, to not hide. The Canadian asked him to repeat what he did and return to much better feelings towards the Holy Father. He said the self-exiled fugitive should try to like Francis more and decrease hostility towards the pontiff.

Ouellet’s letter begins with acknowledging they have met during professional meetings and the Canadian even respected Vigano in church matters when the latter was a Nuncio in Washington. Ouellet is thus surprised by the present state of affairs, and it is extremely deplorable and incomprehensible to him as Vigano's accusations damage the reputation of Successors of the Apostles, leading to confusion among Catholics. He accused Vigano of mocking Francis' faith, which appears to him as "blasphemous." Ouellet disputed Vigano's statements that McCarrick was sanctioned by Pope Benedict XVI and Francis has brought the now-disgraced American Cardinal into the fold. He pointed out that after a thorough examination of all documents, there is no proof that McCarrick was actually penalized by Benedict XVI. There was no compulsory mandate of silence.

Resources

Follow the Conversation on Twitter