VATICAN CITY
Crux
October 6, 2018
By Christopher White
Bishop Robert Barron defended the U.S. bishops’ request for a Vatican-backed investigation into ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick’s history of sexual abuse on Thursday, saying that “it was an expression of what the bishops in this country felt was the right thing to do,” while also showing deference to the pope’s decision not to green-light it.
“We asked the pope specifically to launch an investigative process,” said Barron, who is part of the administrative committee of the United States Conference of Catholics Bishops (USCCB). “I think we just gave voice to our convictions.”
The request for what is known as an Apostolic Visitation was announced on August 16 by USCCB President Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, in an effort to understand how McCarrick rose through the ranks of Church leadership while also serially abusing seminarians and at least one minor.
On September 13, a delegation from the USCCB had a meeting with Pope Francis in which he chose not to sign off on a Vatican-led investigation, prompting the U.S. bishops to begin making their own plans for an investigation coordinated between the four dioceses in which McCarrick was in ministry.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.