ROME
Chicago Tribune
By Manya A. Brachear, Chicago Tribune reporter
March 6, 2013
ROME — Days before Pope Benedict XVI resigned and Roman Catholic cardinals descended on Rome to select his successor, Scottish Cardinal Keith O’Brien was, for all intents and purposes, fired.
As one of the cardinal electors for the next pope, O’Brien, who later apologized for sexual misconduct with other clergy, could have had a say in the next pope. Technically, he could have become the next pontiff.
But in an exclusive interview with the Tribune before the American cardinals’ moratorium, Chicago’s Cardinal Francis George said there are attempts to vet candidates to avoid surprises. He also said ties to anyone guilty of sexual misconduct — whether intended or unintended — could put a man’s candidacy in question if it could distract from his spiritual mission.
David Clohessy, executive director of the Chicago-based Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, also known as SNAP, said that kind of vetting should have been taking place for decades. On Wednesday, Clohessy’s group issued a list of a dozen cardinals whose selection as pope would cause further offense to victims of sex abuse by priests.
“If it’s starting now, it’s progress,” said Clohessy, who is also in Rome during the papal transition. “Realistically, if someone will deceive his staff and his flock, he’s likely to try to deceive his colleagues as well.”
George said that given the troubling circumstances surrounding the issue of priest sex abuse, cardinals aren’t just asking about leadership and communication style. They are asking about each man’s moral character, he said.
“Does he have a past?” George gave as an example. “(O’Brien) has been in people’s minds and hearts. They’ll talk about the feeble witness of the church today because of the sins of churchmen. That would be one of them. So without mentioning him in particular, there are enough others that certainly contribute to that conviction.”
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