[ad_1]
Cardinal Wuerl, who is considered a moderate and a supporter of Francis' papacy style, spoke in the interview of the constructive role he hoped to play at the annual meeting of American bishops in Baltimore, the negative. "We are going to ask everyone to say what we think we should do," he said.
And as a member of the Congregation for Bishops, Cardinal Wuerl will continue to shape the American church for decades by helping to choose his bishops.
This situation – resigning under a cloud while maintaining the power and status of the Vatican – recalls what happened to former Boston cardinal Bernard F. Law. After resigning as archbishop in 2002, Cardinal Law retained his position in the Congregation for Bishops for a time, then lived his years in Rome, where he was warmly welcomed to the Vatican ceremonies and received an important basilica in Rome as titular church. .
The accusations against Cardinal Wuerl are complicated and are nothing compared to the concealment made by Cardinal Law, who moved violent parish priests instead of sending them away, which allowed the violence to continue.
During the interview, Cardinal Wuerl bristled at the mention of the name of Cardinal Law. "I really can not make a comparison like this because I am not at all sure that I can be blamed for constantly reallocating priests who have mistreated," he said.
Asked about the message that Francis had kept Washington in power, despite the general outcry over accountability, he said, "To retire as an archbishop is a huge and very painful step for me. . "
Edward McFadden, spokesman for Cardinal Wuerl, said that during his 12 years of presence in Washington, "no priest from the Archdiocese of Washington had been the subject of A credible affirmation, and there is not today a single priest at the Washington ministry a credible statement. And during the cardinal's 18 years as bishop of Pittsburgh, he declared: "There was no concealment of complaints of abuse".
