CHICAGO (IL)
Chicago Tribune
August 27, 2018
By Patrick M. O’Connell
Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich said Monday he was puzzled to be named in a scathing letter written by a former top Vatican diplomat who accused Pope Francis of covering up the Catholic Church’s sex abuse scandals.
Carlo Maria Vigano, the retired Vatican ambassador to the United States, mentioned Cupich by name several times in the caustic 11-page letter released over the weekend in which he called on the pope to resign.
Vigano’s letter hinted at “a wicked pact” in alleging Cupich secured his appointment as Chicago’s archbishop in large part because of Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the former archbishop of Washington who resigned last month amid sexual abuse allegations. The letter was released to the National Catholic Register and other outlets, and posted online.
Cupich granted a brief interview at the archdiocese’s offices Monday, one of about a dozen he conducted in response to the letter. Asked if he believed Vigano was taking a shot at his credentials and qualifications, Cupich said he had a long record of accomplishments before he came to Chicago: “Let’s be honest. I’m not somebody who fell out of the sky.”
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