Pope: 'I will not say a single word' on Vigano's allegations of cover-up

[Cathoholic]

Pope: ‘I will not say a single word’ on Vigano’s allegations of cover-up​

Hannah Brockhaus

Aboard the papal plane, Aug 26, 2018 / 04:30 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis said Sunday that he will not comment on claims by a former Vatican ambassador to the U.S. that the pope knew about allegations against Archbishop Theodore McCarrick and reinstated him in ministry. The pope said people should make up their own minds about the claims.

Asked whether it was true that Archbishop Carlo Viganò, the statement’s author, had informed him in 2013 about McCarrick’s alleged sexual misconduct with priests and seminarians, and if it was true Benedict XVI had previously imposed sanctions on the former cardinal, the pope said he was distracted by the previous question and would have preferred to talk about the trip.

“I read the statement this morning, and I must tell you sincerely that, I must say this, to you and all those who are interested: Read the statement carefully and make your own judgment,” he answered. “I will not say a single word on this.”

Speaking aboard the papal plane from Dublin to Rome Aug. 26, Francis said he believes in the “journalistic capacity to draw your own conclusions,” calling it an “act of faith.”

“When some time passes and you have drawn your conclusions, I may speak. But I would like your professional maturity to do the work for you. It will be good for you,” he told members of the press. . . .

Pope Francis 'will not say a single word' on Vigano's allegations of McCarrick cover-up

Pope Francis said Sunday that he will not comment on claims by a former Vatican ambassador to the U.S. that the pope knew about allegations against Archbishop Theodore McCarrick and reinstated him in ministry. The pope said people should make up their own minds about the claims.

www.catholicnewsagency.com

 

[Roseeurekacross]

You have a different link to the one I put up a few hours ago.

And they are a little different in their reporting

 

[Cathoholic]

I watched the video of the Pope.

He has said (to CBS news) . . . .

.

NO—He won’t address Vigano’s letter . . . .

"Read the statement carefully yourselves and make your own judgment. I am not going to say a word about this"

.

MAYBE—Possibly he WILL address Vigano’s letter . . .

“When a little time goes by, and you have drawn conclusions, perhaps I will speak about it. . . .”

.

YES—He will address Vigano’s letter . . . .

I will respond to your question. But I would prefer that we first speak about the trip, and then other topics. I got distracted with Stefania and now … but I will respond.

.

I think this is Pope Francis’ way of saying he WILL address Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò’s letter, but he needs some time to recollect himself first.

 

[Cathoholic]

Here is a (translational) transcript of the above video . . . .

Pope’s response to testimony by former U.S. Nuncio Archbishop Viganò

CBS: Good evening, Holy Father. I’ll return to the subject of [sexual abuse]. Very early this morning a document by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò was published. In it, he says that, in 2013, he had a personal conversaton with you at the Vatican, and that during that conversation he spoke with you explicitly about the behaviour of, and sexual abuse by, the former Cardinal McCarrick, and I wanted to ask you if this was true.

I would also like to ask something else. The Archbishop also said that Pope Benedict had sanctioned McCarrick, that he told him he couldn’t live in a seminary, he couldn’t celebrate the Mass publicly, that he couldn’t travel, he was sanctioned by the Church.

May I ask you whether these two things are true?

Pope Francis:

I will respond to your question. But I would prefer that we first speak about the trip, and then other topics. I got distracted with Stefania and now … but I will respond.

This morning I read that statement. I read it, and I will say sincerely that I must tell you all this — you [CBS] and all of you who are interested: Read the statement carefully yourselves and make your own judgment. I am not going to say a word about this. I believe that the statement speaks for itself, and you all have sufficient journalistic ability to draw conclusions. It is an act of trust. When a little time goes by, and you have drawn conclusions, perhaps I will speak about it, but I would like your professional maturity to do this work. It will do you all good, really.

[ CBS makes an inaudible comment as the mic wasn’t on … ]

Pope Francis: Alright as it is.

1/2 . . .

 

[Cathoholic]

2/2 . . . .

[ CBS requests to ask another question ]

CBS: Marie Collins said, after she met you during the encounter with the victims, that she spoke with you directly about the former Cardinal McCarrick. She said that you were very tough in your condemnation of McCarrick. I wanted to ask you when was the first time you heard about the abuses that the former Cardinal had committed?

Pope Francis: This is part of the statement on McCarrick. Study and then I will say something.

Changing the subject, the Pope turned to his meeting with Marie Collins and the abuse victims on Saturday, and his act of forgiveness at today’s Mass. He said:

Pope Francis: But yesterday, I hadn’t read it and I allowed myself to speak clearly with Marie Collins and the group, which was bitter, something I sufferered greatly from. But I believe we had to listen to these eight people, and from this meeting the proposal came out. I made it, but they accepted it, they helped me to formulate it, to ask for forgiveness today in the Mass but about concrete things. For example, the last one that I had never heard about, those mothers … it was called “the cleansing of women,” when a woman became pregnant, I don’t know, and she wasn’t married, and she went to the hospital, […] the sisters ran it, and then they gave the children up for adoption to people. There were two children, at that time, and they were trying to find their mothers, to see if they were alive, they didn’t know. They told them that it was a mortal sin to do this, and they told the mothers who called for their children, that it was a mortal sin. That is why I ended up saying today, that this is not a mortal sin but the fourth commandment. And the things I said today, some of which I did not know about. It was painful for me, but I also had the consolation of being able to help clarify these things.

And I await your comment on the document. I would like it. Thank you.

Translation by Diane Montagna of LifeSiteNews

VIDEO: Pope tells media he's 'not going to say a word' about McCarrick cover-up - LifeSite

'When a little time goes by ... perhaps I will speak about it.'

www.lifesitenews.com

 

[fin]

Can you imagine someone else doing this elsewhere?

Your spouse asks you whether you ate all the ice cream in the ref.

You: not gonna comment on it. It is up to you to investigate.

Or a teacher being asked if he knew about abuse being sone by a colleague.

No comment, you investigate.

It is ridiculous.

 

[Cathoholic]

This from a day or two ago in Ireland . . . .

“We apologize for some members of the hierarchy who did not own up to these painful situations and remained silent,” – Pope Francis

So it is going to be very important for clarity and transparency here. The kind of transparency Pope Francis is lamenting that has NOT occurred in the past.

Many of the faithful were scandalized terribly in 2002.

It is important to KNOW the Holy Father was NOT silent in the wake if the Cardinal McCarrick scandal.

I think the Pope needs to address this issue.

I believe the Pope WILL address this issue.

 

[Cathoholic]

[>

](https://twitter.com/Pontifex)


Pope Francis @Pontifex

I ask our Blessed Mother to intercede for the healing of the survivors of abuse and to confirm every member of our Christian family in the resolve never again to permit these situations to occur.

L'Osservatore Romano

L'Osservatore Romano

www.osservatoreromano.va

 

[Cathoholic]

DUBLIN — Pope Francis faced a lukewarm reception and scattered protests Saturday on his trip to Ireland, with even his vow to rid the church of the “scourge” of sexual abuse and his outrage at those “repugnant crimes” dismissed . . . .

. . . The visit was originally intended to celebrate Catholic families but has been overshadowed by the renewed abuse crisis. . . .

. . . , “The failure of ecclesiastical authorities — bishops, religious superiors, priests and others — to adequately address these repugnant crimes has rightly given rise to outrage, and remains a source of pain and shame for the Catholic community,” he told them. “I myself share these sentiments.”

He cited measures taken by his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, to respond to the crisis. But while Benedict is credited with cracking down on abusers, he never acknowledged the Vatican’s role in fueling a culture of cover-up or sanctioned bishops for failing to protect their flocks from predator . . . .

Of course CBS may be wrong here. Pope Benedict MAY have cracked down on McCarrick.

We still need more information.

Pope Francis decries abuse cover-up, meets with victims in Ireland

Pope Francis provided no new details of any measures he would take to sanction bishops who fail to protect their flocks from predator priests

www.cbsnews.com

There obviously has been SOME cover up here with the McCarrick scandal.

Praying for the Holy Father to help root this out ASAP.

 

[Cathoholic]

After the recent Pennsylvania grand jury report Pope Francis has given us our marching orders . . . .

Pope on sexual abuse: ‘We showed no care for the little ones’​

Francis condemns culture of cover-ups and promises zero tolerance in letter to Catholics​

Harriet Sherwood, Religion correspondent

@harrietsherwood

Mon 20 Aug 2018 09.59 EDTFirst published on Mon 20 Aug 2018 07.04 EDT

Shares​

1,913




Pope Francis at the Vatican on Sunday. Photograph: Gregorio Borgia/AP

Pope Francis has publicly acknowledged the failures of the Roman Catholic church in dealing with sexual abuse by priests, attacking a “culture of death” and deferential “clericalism” that helps perpetuate evil. . . .

. . . Francis’s letter said: “Looking back to the past, no effort to beg pardon and to seek to repair the harm done will ever be sufficient. Looking ahead to the future, no effort must be spared to create a culture able to prevent such situations from happening, but also to prevent the possibility of their being covered up and perpetuated.”

The wounds of sexual abuse, and the abuse of power, would never disappear. The heart-wrenching pain of victims was “long-ignored, kept quiet or silenced”.

He added: “With shame and repentance, we acknowledge as an ecclesial community that we were not where we should have been, that we did not act in a timely manner, realising the magnitude and the gravity of the damage done to so many lives. We showed no care for the little ones; we abandoned them.” . . .

Pope on sexual abuse: 'We showed no care for the little ones'

Francis condemns culture of cover-ups and promises zero tolerance in letter to Catholics

www.theguardian.com

 

[Cathoholic]

And not merely “our little ones” but we must be attentive to the abuse leveled against our seminarians and priests too by Cardinals!

The McCarrick Bishop-scandal has shown us that.

Cardinal McCarrick has apparently been directly involved. Other Cardinals who have been in his “Diocesan tracks” either should have at least KNOWN about the payouts, and DONE SOMETHING to prevent further abuse of our priests and seminarians, or DID know and do nothing publicly.

This has yet to be adequately addressed.

I am confident Pope Francis will address this situation in detail soon.

Our priests and seminarians must be in a safe environment!

(Regarding Archbishop Vigano’s letter, I am confident the Holy Father will address that situation as well. He is going to NEED to do this according to his own preaching.)

This NEEDS to be addressed.

Pope Francis, in lengthy letter, says church failed ‘the little ones’​

By Nicole Winfield

ASSOCIATED PRESS AUGUST 20, 2018

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis issued a letter to Catholics around the world Monday condemning the crime of priestly sexual abuse and its cover-up and demanding accountability, in response to revelations in Pennsylvania of decades of misconduct by the Catholic Church.

Francis begged forgiveness for the pain suffered by victims and said lay Catholics must be involved in any effort to root out abuse and cover-up. He blasted the clerical culture that has been blamed for the crisis, with church leaders more concerned for their reputation than the safety of children. . . .

Pope Francis, in lengthy letter, says church failed ‘the little ones’ - The Boston Globe

The pontiff, reacting to the report issued by a Pennsylvania grand jury, criticized the “crime” of covering up abuse.

www.bostonglobe.com

.

.

Pope Francis on a response to a CBS question concerning archbishop Vigano’s letter

I will respond to your question. But I would prefer that we first speak about the trip, and then other topics. I got distracted with Stefania and now … but I will respond.

And I think he will respond (more than drawing their own conclusions).

 

[Genesis315]

Unfortunately, when it comes to this kind of stuff, we’re well beyond the appropriateness of “acts of trust.”

 

[abucs]

Can you imagine someone else doing this elsewhere?

Your spouse asks you whether you ate all the ice cream in the ref.

You: not gonna comment on it. It is up to you to investigate.

Or a teacher being asked if he knew about abuse being sone by a colleague.

No comment, you investigate.

It is ridiculous.

I am not going to speak about it. You should investigate whether i ate the ice cream. It will be good for you to do this.

I am hoping that the translation is incomplete because it comes off not just as evasive but condescending.

 

[Mark121359]

‘I will not say a single word’

Hasn’t this been Francis M.O. all along? When the controversy surrounding Chapter 8 of Amoris Laetitia came about, and many a theologian started questioning him about it, we were left with vague responses and indirect answers given by churchmen close to the Pontiff, but very little from the Pope himself. Thus, confusion has reigned ever since.

When the five dubia questions were submitted by Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke, German Cardinals Walter Brandmüller and Joachim Meisner, and Italian Cardinal Carlo Caffarra, what did we hear?..crickets!

So I suspect that the same strategy may be at play here. Let the dust settle, ignore Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, much like the dubia cardinals, and treat them as nothing more than disgruntled conservatives, and try your best to weather the storm. Though I suspect that this time, such a strategy will ultimately fail. Let’s face it, these circumstances are vastly more serious than anything previous.

 

[tseleehw]

Well said - some people now are questioning if an investigation by the Vatican of the U.S. and the McCarrick situation will happen given that the Pope is possibly implicated in the cover-up. Before Archbishop Vigano’s testimony, nothing definitive was said by the Pope or Vatican about a more thorough investigation by the Vatican, as was done in Chile, even after the USCCB requested it, and now after this testimony there has been radio silence from the Vatican.

I saw some good commentary from Phil Lawler today in this article that is somewhat related:

So Pope Francis CAN act quickly on cover-up charges, when he wants to

Archbishop Vigano has responded quickly and effectively to the charge that he sought to squelch charges of sexual misconduct by Archbishop John Nienstedt. (I suspect that when he released his testimony, Archbishop Vigano knew this attack would be coming, and he was ready for it.) He notes that...

www.catholicculture.org

On the very day the news appeared in the New York Times, on July 21, 2016, the Holy Father asked Cardinal Parolin to phone the Nuncio in Washington, DC (Christophe Pierre), ordering that an investigation into my conduct be opened immediately….

Did something strike you there? The same thing that caught my eye?

On the very day that a story broke, suggesting that Vigano had engaged in a cover-up, the Pope demanded an investigation. So we know that Pope Francis can act quickly, when he wants to.

But how many days—and months—and years—passed before he demanded a thorough investigation of Bishop Barros? Of Cardinal Danneels? Of Cardinal Errazuriz? Of Cardinal Maradiaga?

The Pope’s loyal defenders tell as that Archbishop Vigano is motivated by his personal dislike for Pope Francis. And what was it, do you suppose, that motivated the Pope to take such quick action on the charge against Vigano?

 

[anon10271182]

Under the law in my state, a teacher who failed to report knowledge or reasonable suspicion of abuse to the authorities would be subject to termination, six months in jail and permanent loss of licensure.
Just sayin’

 

[Canvas]

In all fairness, had I been the Pope and had just found out about that letter, I would not wish to comment either,

1. I would have been furious and deeply hurt
2. I would want to make sure of all the relevant facts before I made a rebuttal. I would also have to try to remember what exactly I said, did or thought 5 years ago.

 

[anon10271182]

I agree that, considering the timing, he may well have been blindsided by the reporters. I pray he responds more fully, very soon, then takes swift action.
(Please Note: This uploaded content is no longer available.)

 

[JimR-OCDS]

Jesus didn’t respond when he was being falsely accused either.

Pope Francis is being Christlike, not responding

Vigano caused great harm to the Church by releasing his loose accusation against the Pope, and of course the secular media picked it up and is running with it.

Of course the conservative Catholics who never trust the secular media, are accepting the news as Gospel truth because it’s against Pope Francis whom they haven’t liked since becoming Pope.

Jim

 

[kyrie03]

Of course the conservative Catholics who never trust the secular media, are accepting the news as Gospel truth because it’s against Pope Francis whom they haven’t liked since becoming Pope.

According to my reading of the situation, Abp Vigano chose certain members of the media to simultaneously print the testimony in various languages and all the outlets agreed on a determined time to release it…after World Meeting of Families. Secular media picked up the stories later.

Jesus didn’t respond when he was being falsely accused either.

But Jesus DID respond!

He responded to Annas questions about His disciples and the doctrines He taught by telling him He had spoken openly to the people and that Annas might question those who had heard Him.

When Ciaphas adjured Him by the living God to answer whether or not He was the Christ, Jesus answered, “Thou hast said it. I say to you, hereafter you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the power of God, and coming in the clouds of heaven.”

And Jesus recognized the secular authority of Pilate. “Are you the King of the Jews?”"
Jesus: “My Kingdom is not of this world.”
When the Jews insisted Jesus was guilty of sedition, Pilate asked, “Answerest Thou nothing?”
Jesus was silent and Pilate was exceedingly surprised that He didn’t defend Himself (so that the Scriptures and Will of His Father might be fulfilled by His passion and death).

When Pilate discovered Jesus was a Galilean, he sent him to King Herod. Scripture tells us that Jesus didn’t answer Herod because all Herod wanted was to be amazed with Jesus performing a miracle.

The scandal this testimony has caused the Church is enormous. If Pope Francis wishes to protect Holy Mother Church, one could argue it is necessary that he either deny the testimony and provide evidence as to why the testimony is false, and discipline Vigano, or that he investigate the allegations and allow the truth to set the Church free!