VATICAN CITY – Two weeks after Pope Francis' papacy was thrown into crisis by accusations that he covered-up sexual misconduct by ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, Francis has refused to respond, his accuser has changed his story and a host of new characters the fray.

Cardinals, bishops, priests and ordinary faithful, meanwhile, are resigned answers, given that the Vatican knew about it as early as 2000.

Increasingly, Francis is coming under pressure to respond by Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano that he rehabilitated McCarrick from Sanctions Pope Benedict XVI had imposed.

Here's a look at the scandal, which has split the U.S. Catholic hierarchy and tarnished Francis' already troubled record on abuse.

WHAT WAS THE ORIGINAL CHARGE?

Vigano said in his Aug. 26 exposes that Benedict imposed "canonical sanctions" on McCarrick in 2009 or 2010 that were similar to what Francis imposed this summer after McCarrick was credibly accused of groping a minor.

"The cardinal was to leave the world where he was living, he was forbidden to celebrate Mass in public, to participate in public meetings, to give readings, to travel, with the obligation of dedicating himself to a life of prayer and penance," Vigano wrote.

Vigano said he told Francis on June 23, 2013 that McCarrick had "corrupted a generation of seminarians and priests" and that Benedict "sent him to a life of prayer and penance."

But he said Francis effectively rehabilitated McCarrick and made him a trusted counselor as he sought to remake the U.S. church leadership to be less focused on the culture wars.

The public record, however, is rife with evidence that McCarrick lived a life devoid of any sanction from 2009 onwards, traveling widely for the church, including official functions, including at the Vatican alongside Benedict and Vigano, who as Vatican ambassador in 2012 had the duty of honoring at the awards ceremony in New York.

HOW HAS VIGANO'S STORY CHANGED?

Faced with such evidence, Vigano said, "Benedict's measures were in place, McCarrick did not obey" and was unable to enforce them.

Vigano told LifeSiteNews, an ultraconservative website, that Benedict had made the sanctions "private" probably because McCarrick was retired and Benedict, seeking to avoid scandal, thought he would obey.

Even the conservative National Catholic Register, which originally published Vigano 's Revelation, has been published as an open question.

Citing someone close to Benedict, the Register reported that it was not a question of how to deal with the issue of McCarrick, "just a private request" to keep a low profile.

If true, that would undercut Vigano's core accusation that Francis rehabilitated McCarrick from actual canonical sanctions.

HOW DO THE POPE RESPONDED?

Hours after Vigano's accusations came to light, Francis told an in-flight news conference: "I will not say a word about this." Vigano's claims and said "If time passes and you've drawn your conclusions, maybe I'll speak."

That said, Francis has referred to the scandal a handful of times since. He said "silence and prayer" were often the best response to people seeking scandal. He said he was a Christian to accuse other people, but necessary to accuse oneself to recognize sin. And he has recently made his way to work in the field of communion.

The Vatican press office has not all been imposed on McCarrick, and what if anything, Francis did about them.

WHAT WAS GOING ON IN 2013?

When Francis and Vigano put it in June 2013, Francis was one of those who knew he was going to make enemies with the type of conservative culture warriors that Vigano championed.

A month after the encounter over McCarrick's sexual past, Francis would go on to win praise from the liberal Catholic world for having said another one of the purportedly gay priests he had named a close adviser: "Who am I to judge?"

That suggests that Francis, at least in 2013, did not consider the past two days of abuse.

This article is translated from French by Scottish Cardinal Keith O'Brien, who recused himself from the conclave that elected Francis Pope because of allegations he slept with seminarians.

O'Brien was a conservative hard-liner on homosexuality with sexual peccadillos were aired publicly, which could explain the disparity in treatment.

HOW HAS THIS BEEN RECEIVED IN THE US?

More than a week before Vigano's disclosure, the head of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, was announced for a hearing with Francis to present his request for a full-fledged Vatican investigation into the McCarrick affair.

At the time, DiNardo's was played by the US bishops, who were under fire for having covered for McCarrick for decades, to shift the blame to the Vatican. McCarrick was made archbishop of Washington and cardinal in 2001 by Pope John Paul II, despite knowledge in the Vatican that he slept with seminarians.

Vigano's accusations deserved answers. More than a dozen U.S. bishops have echoed the call, though others, including a top Francis appointee, Cardinal Blase Cupich, have demurred. Cupich has said Francis should not go back to the "rabbit hole" by responding.

No date for a DiNardo hearing has been set. He is due in Rome Sept. 27 to preside over an ordination ceremony.

Meanwhile, Francis has met with embattled Washington Cardinal Donald Wuerl, who is facing challenges to the McCarrick scandal and for mishandling some cases when he was bishop in Pittsburgh that were exposed by the Pennsylvania grand jury report.

When he turned 75, he decided to resign with Francis alone.

WHO IS NOW SPEAKING OUT?

Amid the official silence of the Vatican, Vigano's version of events and defends Francis.

One of them is a familiar face, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, the Jesuit who served as Vatican spokesman for Benedict and Francis until 2016. Last weekend, a crisis for the Vatican, it was announced that Lombardi would join the Jesuit magazine The Civilta Cattolica, which serves as an official mouthpiece for the papacy.

Also last weekend, Lombardi and his English-speaking assistant, the Rev. Thomas Rosica, issued a joint statement contesting Vigano's version of events about the controversial meeting that Vignao orchestrated between the pope and U.S. anti-gay marriage campaigner Kim Davis during Francis' 2015 visit to the U.S.

The encounter made headlines because it was viewed as a papal endorsement of Davis.

Vigano claimed Francis had only praised for his handling of the visit. But Lombardi and Rosica issued a statement, based on Vigano's recollection of Vigano himself.