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Francis downplays Wuerl's culpability for sinsPope Francis is saying that Cdl. Donald Wuerl's actions in protecting predator priests — actions that destroyed the spiritual lives of many and the physical lives of some — were justified as simply "mistakes" made in good faith. In his letter accepting the resignation of Wuerl as archbishop of Washington, D.C., Francis said in a letter Friday, "You have sufficient elements to 'justify' your actions and distinguish between what it means to cover up crimes or not to deal with problems, and to commit some mistakes." These "mistakes" were in actuality crimes, and Wuerl's name...

Francis’ glowing send-off of Wuerl signals he’s ‘not the Pope to clean out the stables’: scholar WASHINGTON, D.C., October 12, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) – Pope Francis’ praise of Cardinal Wuerl for his “nobility” and “docility to the Spirit” in his letter accepting the Cardinal’s resignation signals that Francis is “not the Pope to clean out the stables” of the abuse crisis that is rocking the Church, a Catholic scholar said.  Oxford University’s Dr. Joseph Shaw told LifeSiteNews that Pope Francis’s Oct. 12 letter accepting Cardinal Wuerl’s resignation “makes it very clear” that he doesn’t want to punish his subordinate.  “In...

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis accepted the resignation Friday of Washington Cardinal Donald Wuerl after he became entangled in two major sexual abuse and cover-up scandals and lost the support of many in his flock. But in a letter released by Wuerl’s office, Francis praised his longtime ally and suggested Wuerl had unfairly become a scapegoat, having made some “mistakes” in handling sex abuse cases, but not having covered them up. With the resignation, Wuerl becomes the most prominent head to roll in the scandal roiling the Catholic Church after his predecessor as Washington archbishop, Theodore McCarrick, was forced...

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Washington Cardinal Donald Wuerl who is implicated in the sex abuse cover-up scandal. Wuerl, the former bishop of Pittsburgh, has been scrutinized since the release of a grand jury report on child sex abuse by priests in six Pennsylvania dioceses. He was named nearly 200 times for his alleged involvement in the cover-up. Wuerl served as bishop for the Diocese of Pittsburgh from 1988 to 2006. After the August release of the grand jury report, calls for his resignation began. In light of the grand jury report and a petition,...

80 US Bishops Want Viganò‘s Claims Investigated DETROIT (ChurchMilitant.com) - A new site is tracking how American bishops have responded to the McCarrick scandal, and where they stand on the idea of an independent investigation. Church Transparency lists all the dioceses in the United States, the respective bishops and how the bishops have responded to the bombshell testimony of Abp. Carlo Maria Viganò, former papal nuncio to the United States. Archbishop Viganò claims that Pope Francis lifted sanctions that Pope Benedict XVI had imposed on ex-Cdl. Theodore McCarrick, an alleged homosexual predator. On the website, prelates fall into one of four categories, based on their response to...

Cardinal Donald Wuerl, who has said repeatedly that he didn’t know about years of sexual misconduct complaints involving his predecessor in the District, Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, was named in a 2005 settlement agreement that included allegations against McCarrick, according to the accuser in the case and documents obtained by The Washington Post. Robert Ciolek, who left the priesthood and later became an attorney, spoke for the first time publicly this summer about the $80,000 settlement he reached in June 2005 with three New Jersey dioceses over his allegations against McCarrick and a teacher at his Catholic high school. McCarrick led...

Why is this accused gay predator still running the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception? The other day I received a call from a former Catholic University of America student who recounted episodes of sexual harassment that he suffered at the hands of Monsignor Walter Rossi, the Gay Mafioso whom pederast Cardinal Theodore McCarrick appointed to run the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in 2005. Rossi succeeded another accused gay harasser, (then monsignor, later bishop) Michael Bransfield who is currently under investigation for preying upon men. So in Rossi’s rise we see another case of gay...

ROME, September 17, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) — Cardinal Donald Wuerl arrived in Rome today, just one week after telling priests of the archdiocese of Washington that he intended “in the very near future, to go to Rome to meet with our Holy Father about the resignation I presented nearly three years ago, on November 12, 2015.” The Cardinal’s flight touched down at Rome’s Fiumicino airport this morning shortly before 8 a.m. local time, sources confirmed.  Last week, in a letter dated Sept. 11, Cardinal Wuerl, 78, told priests of the Washington archdiocese that: “It was clear that some decision, sooner rather than later,...

All Roads Lead to Washington, D.C. For those interested in the latest news, we bring you our summary: 1) Bishop Michael Bransfield resigned and the resignation was accepted.  Bransfield served for 24 years at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., most of the time as rector. He was then ordained a bishop, choosing Theodore McCarrick as co-consecrator. 2) Archbishop William Lori, who ran the Archdiocese of Washington (D.C.) throughout the 1990s (holding several high-level positions, including moderator of the curia and auxiliary bishop), will investigate allegations against Bishop Bransfield.  During Bransfield's time at the...

C212 NEUMAYR INTERVIEW: THE REAL STORY BEHIND CARDINAL WUERL’S IMPENDING DEPARTURE

WASHINGTON, September 11, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) – In a letter released today to priests of the Archdiocese of Washington, Cardinal Donald Wuerl has informed them that he intends, “in the very near future, to go to Rome to meet with our Holy Father about the resignation I presented nearly three years ago, November 12, 2015.” "It was clear that some decision, sooner rather than later, on my part is an essential aspect” of moving forward, the letter said. The embattled Cardinal of Washington has been under the spotlight since the revelations of sexual abuse of his predecessor Cardinal Theodore McCarrick. Cardinal...

VATICAN CITY — With the Catholic Church in crisis once again over clerical sex abuse and cover-up, Pope Francis will meet Thursday with U.S. cardinals and bishops who are demanding to know how one of their own was able to climb the clerical ranks despite allegations that he slept with seminarians. The Vatican said Tuesday that the U.S. delegation would be headed by Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, head of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and also include Francis' top sex abuse adviser, Cardinal Sean O'Malley. Di Nardo has said he wants Francis to authorize a full-fledged Vatican investigation into ex-Cardinal...

I learned from a chancery-connected source last week that Washington, D.C. Cardinal Donald Wuerl, choking on his rage at my reporting of his misdeeds, ordered security staff at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, the crown jewel of his archdiocese, to call the police immediately whenever its officials saw me upon its premises. I got my hands on Wuerl’s Most Wanted List at the Basilica and my photo figures prominently on it. (Click here.)The “confidential” document addressed to the Security Office under the subject “Current Photos of Barred Individuals” states: “If any of these people are...

WASHINGTON, September 10, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) – CNN’s Jake Tapper tweeted a reminder last week of his August video that caught Cardinal Donald Wuerl denying grand jury report evidence he covered up clerical sex abuse as bishop of Pittsburgh. The 900-page Pennsylvania report documents over 1,000 allegations dating back decades against 300 priests in the state’s six dioceses, and mentions Wuerl over 200 times. The report has led to ongoing, widespread calls for the Archbishop of Washington to resign, but as clips from Tapper’s video show, Wuerl defends his record in statements that flatly contradict the report’s findings. “Did you ever...

From The Season Of Healing Department - Bathhouse Romper Functioning As Priest In DC Is the following account typical of what we might expect in Cardinal Wuerl's "season of healing"?  George Neumayr smoked this out.  Seven years ago in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, a Carmelite priest was arrested after he touched the buttocks of an 18-year old man.  The perp-priest's name is Father Emmanuel Betasso (legally Patrick Anthony Betasso).  He admitted to doing so for a "cheap thrill".  He was 45 years old at the time and had just been named pastor of a parish - and was teaching a...

Francis Received Pro-Gay Wuerl and Cupich, Ignored DiNardo The president of the US bishops Cardinal Daniel DiNardo requested a papal audience to discuss the homosexual abuses of Cardinal McCarrick but received no answer, EWTN journalist Anna Mitchell wrote on Twitter (September 7). Mitchell said that the request was received by the Papal Household on August 20. According to Rocco Palmo, DiNardo even asked for an audience as early as July but received no answer. Instead, Pope Francis received the two pro-gay Cardinals Donald Wurl from Washington on September 6 and Blase Cupich from Chicago. Both are implicated into the McCarrick...

Washington (CNN)Pope Francis met with embattled Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington last Thursday in Vatican City, where they discussed the cardinal's personal situation, according to a source familiar with Wuerl's presentation to local priests in Washington on Monday. Wuerl, who is archbishop of Washington, told the priests about the papal meeting, including Francis' advice that the cardinal should consult with his priests as Wuerl discerns his future. That was part of a larger conversation between the Pope and Wuerl, the source said. Archdiocese of Washington Director of Communications Edward McFadden has said that Wuerl traveled to the Vatican last week,...

Thomas Peters @AmericanPapist 42m 42 minutes ago More Thomas Peters Retweeted Jason Calvi #ResignWatch Thomas Peters added, Jason Calvi @JasonCalvi NEW: Cardinal Wuerl will not attend this year’s Red Mass, which is a Mass calling down the Holy Spirit on the Sunday before the new #SCOTUS term opens. #CatholicTwitter… 1 reply 1 retweet 5 likes Reply 1 Retweet 1 Like 5 Direct message

Cardinal Donald Wuerl (left) with Pope Francis at St. Patrick in the City Catholic Church in Washington, D.C., in 2015 (Erik S. Lesser/Reuters) The cardinal’s repeated denials of knowledge and responsibility for sexual-abuse cover-ups defy all credibility. The Catholic Church’s nightmare of a summer began with Theodore McCarrick. After news broke in June about his past sexual misconduct, including the abuse of minors, he resigned from the College of Cardinals and was exiled to a life of prayer and penance, out of the public eye. But the Archdiocese of Washington, which McCarrick once oversaw, remains very much in the eye...

In an interview released on Wednesday, Bishop Steven Lopes castigated his fellow bishops and cardinals for denying that they knew of disgraced cardinal Theodore McCarrick’s alleged sexual abuse of seminarians and adolescents before it was revealed this year.“I’ll tell you what response I think is not good enough. It’s the parade of cardinals and bishops who have rushed to the television cameras clutching their pectoral crosses, saying, ‘I knew nothing,’” Lopes said in a recording posted on Twitter by Matthew Schmitz, senior editor of First Things. “I don’t believe it, and I am one of them. I don’t believe it.”Lopes,...