ROME (ITALY)
Crux
October 12, 2018
By John L. Allen Jr.
Make no mistake: Cardinal Donald Wuerl resigned today because of allegations of mishandling cases of clerical sexual abuse, and if he were to die tomorrow, his role in the abuse scandals would be how his obituary opened.
However fair that linkage may be doesn’t matter. His resignation at this time, and under these circumstances, effectively sets it in cement.
(Granted, critics will say it’s a curious sort of resignation since Wuerl has been named apostolic administrator, effectively leaving him in charge of the Archdiocese of Washington until a successor is named. Symbolically, however, the resignation still matters, because it comes off as a concession that a price had to be paid.)
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