MEDIA REVIEWS OF THE USCCB SEXUAL COVERUP SCANDAL

(posted by Frenchie)

Since the beginning of the summer, and the shocking revelations of the shenanigans of former Cardinal and Archbishop emeritus of Washington DC Mc Carrick, we have been bombarded by an avalanche of information, all very disturbing, most of them contradictory, at best very confusing for the lambda citizens, and most faithful.

Adding to this, former Nuncio and high ranking Vatican official during the reign of Benedict the XVI, Archbishop Vigano revealed in an 11 pages statement a mother lode of accusations against high ranking members of the American Catholic Church and the Vatican. This release was well documented and precise and implicates Pope Francis directly in a coverup of Mc Carrick's misdeeds.
Read here

These revelations are capital, because they implicate cardinals, who elected Pope Francis, and could again elect his successor.
Which begs to ask, why we should trust cardinals who have abdicated their moral leadership, for the sake of political gains.

MAKING SENSE OF THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS, ON THE SEXUAL COVER UPS.

(posted by frenchie)

Ever since the revelations about the shenanigans of former Cardinal Mc Carrick at the beginning of this summer, which were closely followed by the release of the Pennsylvania's Attorney General grand jury findings on sexual abuse in the Catholic Church in that state; as well as the open letter of 11 pages by Archbishop Vigano, which openly accused several key prelates of the USCCB, and the Vatican, of coverup, revealing that Pope Francis had taken several controversial decisions in full knowledge of the issues; the media circus has gone full speed ahead with daily revelations to complicate what should be a clear cut issue.

We have written here at length about the jockeying by different currents inside the Catholic Church itself, as well as the obvious spinning by certain secular media outlets, according to their political leanings.

In the past two weeks we have been bombarded by so many opinion pieces, and partial information, that I found it necessary to kind of clean up the process a little and explain what is happening at this time.

CBS, CNN: EVIDENCE THAT THE VATICAN KNEW

Cardinal Theodore McCarrick

For a while, it seemed that Big Media in the U.S. were sticking to the canard that the accusations of cover up of Cardinal McCarrick's heinous sexual abuse of priests and seminarians was all part of a right-wing conspiracy.

That is, until the revelation of a letter written in 2006 by Archbishop Leonardo Sandri, the No. 3 in the Vatican's secretariat of state at the time, to Father Boniface Ramsey, a former professor at the Diocese of Newark's seminary.  The letter was published by the U.S. Bishops' Catholic News Service on September 7, 2018.

THE COMING STORM

There's a storm coming.  Not to Guam, but to New Jersey, the home of the nation's first Redemptoris Mater Seminary and to many of Cardinal McCarrick's shenanigans.  From NorthJersey.com:

New Jersey attorney general to investigate sex-abuse allegations among Catholic clergy

New Jersey will investigate allegations of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy, following a report by a grand jury in Pennsylvania that found more than 1,000 victims there over 70 years.

New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said he's forming his own task force, which could use subpoenas and other investigative methods to uncover evidence that it would present to a state grand jury. The task force is to look into allegations of abuse as well as attempts to cover up incidents, Grewal's office said in a news release.  Read more.

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Meanwhile, Pope Francis tells us in his homilies that "truth is silent" and that his accusers are "wild dogs".

Maybe New Jersey Attorney General Grewal will find out, as will his peers in Pennsylvania, New Mexico, Illinois, New York, Nebraska, and Missouri.

A WORD OF CAUTION AND A WARNING

(Posted by Frenchie)

Last week, the local media, and some on this blog, made a lot of hay about a comment Pope Francis made during his chat with the journalists, in the plane that was taking him back to Rome, from his stay in Ireland.

If there is one thing, that we should all have learned over the last few years, it is not to think that you can conclude precisely what the Pope intent was, when he makes a statement.
More often than not, what Pope Francis means is only clear to him only. What is almost as important to understand, is the context in which he said what he said, but also what he did not say, or perhaps only inferred in that statement.

ARCHBISHOP BYRNES: 'DRIVE OUT EVIL BY THE POWER OF GOOD'

TIME'S UP

Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga - head of the Papal Cabinet of Cardinals (C9)

While major media outlets like CNN and the New York Times are vigorously defending Pope Francis against allegations that he covered up Cardinal McCarrrick's pederasty, the Boston Globe is sticking to its guns. Sunday's edition of that paper included this editorial: 

Time’s up on Pope Francis and Catholic Church leaders being able to handle clergy abuse crisis

"Time’s up for Pope Francis and the leaders of the Catholic Church.

Catholics everywhere — and anyone who cares about children — should demand that our criminal justice system start treating the Roman Catholic Church for what many victims believe it is: an international criminal conspiracy to cover up the rape of what in the United States alone might amount to 100,000 children."  Read more.

To faithful Catholics, that's a shocking statement, even if we admit that there are some bad actors involved in cover-ups who are deeply embedded into the Church's structures of governance.

CONNECTING THE DOTS, FROM ONE SCANDAL TO ANOTHER

(posted by Frenchie)

On page 5 of Archbishop Vigano's now infamous letter, fingering Bishops and Cardinals who were part of the cover-up cabal, which helped perverts and thugs like Mc Carrick rise to power, Vigano fingers a certain Cardinal O'Brien

Perhaps to some of you, faithful readers of this blog, the name might ring a bell? It should.....
Cardinal O'Brien has the dubious honor, to be the first one to try to shut down this blog and kill any criticism of Apuron, when he personally threatened Tim Rohr in 2013, only a few months after Tim started to expose Apuron vile treatment of Father Paul Gofigan, and three years before Apuron would be himself accused of  sexually abusing young men.

As the old adage said: "Birds of a feather, stick together"

I have been told that Tim did contact said Cardinal, after the Apuron's guilty verdict was made public by the Vatican. As of now Tim has not made O'Brien's answer public. This should become even more interesting.

LET'S ASSUME THE ALLEGATIONS ARE FALSE...

Pope Francis attends a meeting with faithful of the diocese of Rome
at Saint John Lateran Basilica in Rome, Italy, in a May 14, 2018 file photo.
REUTERS

Let's assume for a minute that Archbishop Viganó's most significant allegations are false.  In other words:

1. Pope Benedict did NOT impose any sanctions on Cardinal McCarrick, and
2. Archbishop Viganó NEVER told Pope Francis about Cardinal McCarrick's heinous misdeeds.

Well, then, if that's the case, why wouldn't Pope Benedict, for the sake of the unity of the Church if for no other reason, exonerate Pope Francis with a short, simple public statement?  And why wouldn't Pope Francis assert, just as simply, that Archbishop Viganó never told him about McCarrick's misdeeds?  Two holy men would be telling the truth for the sake of the Church.  It seems so simple.

But no, both Pope Benedict and Pope Francis have nothing to say about the matter, the faithful are left wondering why, and the Church is left lurching dangerously close to schism.

That's if Archbishop Viganó's allegations are false. But they ring true, and if they are, we can only assume that Pope Francis is silent to avoid being caught in a lie.

ILLINOIS AG LAUNCHES AN INVESTIGATION

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan.
(Jose M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune)

Following on the heels of the scathing Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced she was contacting the six dioceses of the Catholic Church in Illinois requesting to review all records relating to sexual assault and abuse.

Madigan, by the way, is the sister-in-law of our own Archbishop Michael Byrnes.   Church Militant reports:

"Madigan is married to Pat Byrnes, brother to Detroit Auxiliary Bishop Michael Byrnes, sent to Guam to replace Abp. Anthony Apuron, who was removed in 2016 over allegations of homosexual assault of altar boys."