UNITED STATES
America: The Jesuit Review
August 29, 2018
By Michael J. O’Loughlin
While Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò makes a number of accusations against former and current Vatican officials in his 11-page letter, there is only one he aims at Pope Francis: that he knew former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick had “corrupted generations of seminarians and priests” but nonetheless decided to lift sanctions that included “a life of prayer and penance” which had been imposed on the retired D.C. archbishop by Pope Benedict XVI in either 2009 or 2010.
Archbishop Viganò, the papal representative to the United States from 2011 until he was recalled to Rome by Pope Francis in 2016, did not provide documents proving that sanctions were imposed by Benedict. Nor did he provide evidence that Francis knew about the sanctions or that he lifted them.
During the years that then-Cardinal McCarrick was allegedly sanctioned by Rome, he kept up a public profile that included preaching at high-profile Masses, giving talks and accepting awards. He testified in front of a Senate subcommittee and appeared in the media.
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