Bishop Viganò renews his criticism of Pope Francis in a new letter

The former Vatican ambassador to the United States, who unleashed a firestorm last month by writing a letter accusing Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis of the knowledge of a sexual stalker, issued a second letter attacking Pope Francis.

Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò reiterated his accusation that Francis had known since at least 2013 that Cardinal Theodore McCarrick had sexually harassed young men, but that Francis had chosen to let McCarrick remain an influential leader in the church .

In the month following the first letter of Viganò, Francis largely refused to answer the allegations of the former nuncio. He told reporters to thoroughly examine the facts and made several general remarks about the charges, but he never denied or directly discussed Viganò's claim that he was aware of McCarrick's behavior.

In his new letter, published online Thursday, Viganò said that he considered this silence as a proof of guilt: "Neither the pope nor any of the cardinals of Rome denied the facts that I did. asserted in my testimony. 'Who tacet consented"Surely applies here," he wrote, using a Latin term meaning "He who is silent, is in agreement." He continued: "If they deny my testimony, they have only to say it and provide documents to support that denial." How can one avoid concluding that the reason they do not do not provide the documentation is that they know that this confirms my testimony?

McCarrick's abuses were revealed in June when he was removed from office because of the allegation of an old altar that McCarrick had assaulted him almost 50 years ago when he was a teenager and that he was preparing for a Christmas service. In the following weeks, another man reported being mistreated as a minor by McCarrick, and reports that McCarrick harassed adult seminarians and priests also surfaced. The 88-year-old prelate, who had been archbishop of Washington from 2001 to 2006, resigned from the College of Cardinals in July, the first cardinal to resign because of allegations of sexual abuse.

[McCarrick resigns from the College of Cardinals]

Catholics already shaken by McCarrick's shocking resignation were shaken by a August Pennsylvania grand jury report, which exposed abuses by more than 300 priests and inspired prosecutors across the country. And then came the letter from Viganò.

In his new treatise on Thursday, he attempted to explain why he felt the need to reveal sins in the church, even though he acknowledged the seriousness of the pope's criticism. "My decision to reveal these serious facts was for me the most painful and serious decision I ever made in my life. I did it after a long reflection and a long prayer, during months of deep suffering and anguish, "he wrote.

[Maryland attorney general is the latest to open investigation of the Catholic Church]

He maintained his decision in the new letter, written under the titleScio cui credidiA Latin expression of the New Testament meaning "I know who I believed".

He also urged the Cardinals to join him in his crusade to reveal what Francis knew about McCarrick, what most church leaders have refused to do so far. More specifically, he stated that Cardinal Marc Ouellet, because of his role in the Vatican Bishops' Congregation, had documents to verify what Francis knew, and asked him to make these documents public.

Viganò also asked Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, the president of the American bishops, to report on Francis' most recent approach in the McCarrick affair, which recently met with Francis at the Vatican.

[Francis meets with DiNardo, who faces allegation of coverup himself]

Prior to this meeting, DiNardo had called for a Vatican inquiry into McCarrick. Several days after the meeting, the US bishops said they would investigate McCarrick's behavior and announced a series of new procedures to deal with the abuses committed by the bishops – suggesting Francis to deny DiNardo's request to conduct an investigation in the United States. .