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Vatican City – The Italian archbishop who alleged a widespread concealment of allegations against the current Cardinal Theodore McCarrick asserted that the Vatican's fiery response to his accusations had only proved their veracity.
In a new "testimony" published on his behalf by a right-wing Italian journalist, on October 19, Bishop Carlo Maria Viganò also reaffirmed that he had informed Pope Francis of McCarrick in 2013, without providing any documentary evidence of 39 such a meeting.
Viganò, Vatican ambassador to the United States from 2011 to 2016, also launches a long diatribe against alleged homosexuality in the Catholic priesthood, calling it "the main cause" of the crisis of abuse against the clergy .
The former diplomat responds to Cardinal Marc Ouellet, who in a letter of October 7 called the accusations of Viganò nothing more than a "political ploy". Ouellet is the prefect of the powerful congregation of bishops of the Vatican.
"Cardinal Ouellet admits the important affirmations that I make and that I dispute, and disputes the affirmations that I do not do and that I have never made," says Viganò in his last document, referring to the revelation of Ouellet that McCarrick had been instructed by the Vatican to refrain from any public activity like 2011.
Viganò had stated in his first document – published on August 26 while Pope Francis was visiting Ireland – that Pope Benedict XVI had imposed "sanctions" on McCarrick during the year 2009 or 2010.
"Cardinal Ouellet disputes that it is wrong to present the measures taken against McCarrick as" sanctions "imposed by Pope Benedict XVI and lifted by Pope Francis," says Viganò in his latest document.
"It's true," says the Archbishop. "These were not technically" sanctions ", they were precautionary measures, or" conditions and restrictions ".
"To discuss whether these were sanctions or precautionary measures is pure legalism," he continues. "Under the pastoral profile, it's exactly the same thing."
McCarrick, 88, was Archbishop of Washington, DC, from 2000 to 2006. The Vatican ordered him to leave the ministry in June after an allegation of sexual violence had been deemed "credible and supported ". In July, he became the first American prelate to resign from the College of Cardinals.
In his October 7 response to Viganò, Ouellet said that McCarrick had been told in 2011 to lead "a life of discretion, prayer and penance" because of "rumors about his behavior in the past" . Ouellet stated that the application did not correspond to a "prescribed obligation" because "there was not then enough evidence of [McCarrick’s] alleged guilt. "
In his new letter, Viganò disputes this statement by saying: "The Holy See knew a multiplicity of concrete facts and was in possession of proven documents, yet those responsible did not intervene or were prevented from doing so."
The former ambassador provides no new evidence that the Vatican was aware of McCarrick's abuse of minors. He cites unspecified allegations that, he says, were allegedly sent to Rome by victims in Newark and Metuchen, New Jersey, as well as reports of a letter sent to the Canadian Embassy in New Jersey. Vatican to Washington by p. Boniface Ramsey in 2000.
Viganò met Francis briefly on June 21, 2013, on the sidelines of a meeting with dozens of papal diplomats.
In his letter, Ouellet expressed doubts that the ambassador would have had time, during this quick exchange, part of which was filmed by the Vatican television, to inform the pontiff of McCarrick.
But in his new document, Viganò reiterates a statement he made in his initial statement of 26 August that he would later have had a private meeting with Francis on 23 June 2013.
"I met Pope Francis in a private audience in his apartment for some clarification, and the pope asked me," How is Cardinal McCarrick? "Viganò said, asking the question:" Words that I can only interpret as a false curiosity to discover if I was an ally McCarrick.
"I told him that generations of priests and seminarians had been sexually corrupted by the McCarrick and that Pope Benedict had ordered him to devote himself entirely to a life of prayer and penance," says Viganò.
"McCarrick, however, continued to enjoy special consideration from Pope Francis," he said.
Ouellet's response to Viganò was exceptionally powerful. The cardinal told the former ambassador on several occasions that his claims were "unbelievable and absurd", "aberrant", "a very painful wound" for the church and "unfair and unjustified".
The cardinal also called on the archbishop to come to terms with the church by telling him to "get out of his hiding, to repent of his revolt and to find better feelings towards the Holy Father".
In his last document, Viganò indicates that Ouellet proposed a "dramatic silence" on "the role of homosexuality in the corruption of the priesthood and the hierarchy".
"This very serious crisis can not be confronted and resolved properly until we call things by their real names," Viganò said. "It's no exaggeration to say that homosexuality has become a plague in the clergy and that it can only be annihilated with spiritual weapons."
Several scientific studies have found no link between homosexuality and clergy abuse. The 2011 John Jay Report, for example, was more a story of a perversion of power and authority. The study consisted of a thorough investigation into the causes and context of sexual abuse by clergy and was sponsored by the Bishops of the United States.
In a change from his August 26 document, Viganò does not call again for Francis's resignation from the papacy. He says that he prays daily for Francis – "more than I have ever done for other popes".
The document of the former ambassador was published on the blog of Marco Tosatti, a right-wing Italian journalist who extolled his efforts to help Viganò write his initial testimony. His release took place on the seventh anniversary of the Vatican's announcement of the appointment of the diplomat in Washington.
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