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[Catholic Caucus] Abp. Viganò to receive award for exposing Church abuse cover-ups MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin, July 2, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) — Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò will be bestowed with the “Msgr. Alphonse S. Popek Award” by Catholics United for the Faith in recognition of his leadership and fidelity for exposing cover-ups by the highest levels of the Catholic Church of sexual misdeeds by clergy. Given annually by the Milwaukee chapter of Catholics United for the Faith (CUF), the award is given in memory of Msgr. Popek, who was known for his priestly zeal. CUF paid tribute to Viganò, saying in a release that...

[Catholic Caucus] US bishop demands investigation into Viganò’s latest accusations of Vatican sex-abuse cover-up TYLER, Texas, July 4, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) ― An American Catholic bishop is calling for an investigation into a Vatican whistleblower’s most recent allegations concerning the Vatican and Pope Francis covering up of clerical sexual abuse.  Bishop Joseph Strickland, the ordinary of Tyler, Texas linked on Twitter to a recent LifeSiteNews article containing material cut from an interview Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò gave the Washington Post.  “Faithful Catholics who believe in the Eucharist & pray the rosary need to demand an investigation of this & a clear...

[Catholic Caucus] New Viganò testimony: Vatican covered up allegations of sexual abuse of Pope’s altar boys July 3, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) – Editor’s Note: Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò’s interview with the Washington Post, published June 10, contained an answer that the Post decided to expurgate from the interview. This answer contained important information regarding unaddressed accusations of sex abuse against a high official of the Holy See, as well as the coverup of a former seminarian, now a priest, accused of the sexual abuse of pre-seminarian adolescents who acted as the Pope’s altar boys. The full text of Viganò’s unpublished answers to the...

[Catholic Caucus] Archbishop Viganò clarifies points arising from new interview ROME, June 14, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) — In the wake of two recent pieces in the Washington Post relating to Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, an article and an extended interview (the first the archbishop has granted since his initial allegations concerning Pope Francis), renewed insinuations and smears have been directed at the former diplomat of the Holy See.  In his June 10 interview, the archbishop claims that the actions so far taken against McCarrick are chiefly inspired by a desire to prevent a trial of the former cardinal, which might expose...

President Trump spoke with reporters on Wednesday morning following his meeting with Democrats Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer. This was also after Pelosi told reporters earlier that President Trump was involved in a “cover-up.” President Trump left the meetings and held an impromptu press conference with the liberal White House press corps. President Trump told reporters, “I don’t do cover-ups.” Trump again told reporters there was “no collusion” and “obstruction.” According to the Number 2 Democrat in the US Senate, Dick Durbin, the president walked into the room with Pelosi and Schumer, blasted them, cancelled the meeting on the spot...

Vatican diplomat accused of corruption and 'romantic' relationship while at UN New York City, N.Y., Mar 15, 2019 / 01:09 pm (CNA).- An archbishop who served as the Holy See’s permanent observer to the United Nations is accused of financial and professional misconduct, including the use of Vatican staff and influence to assist and support financially a woman with whom he had a romantic relationship.Sources say that although Vatican officials were informed of the man’s conduct, he was quietly reassigned to a new diplomatic post without facing sanctions.   Archbishop Francis Chullikatt, 65, now apostolic nuncio to Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and...

[Catholic Caucus] PINK ELEPHANT SUMMIT: Vatican Coverup Continues (Michael Matt in Rome) RTV in Rome. . . CNN's Delia Gallagher asks Cardinal Cupich the million-dollar question just before Cardinal Cupich loses his red hat.  Reporting from the Vatican, Michael Matt comments on what's fast becoming a 'Pink Elephant Summit, with everyone ignoring the real problem but going on and on about 'synodality,' 'collegiality', 'pilgrim church', 'accompaniment', 'path forward', 'radical listening'--pretty much anything BUT the pink elephant in the room. And now these guys claim that because they've been listening to abuse victims here in Rome this week, they now know...

Analysis: After McCarrick sex abuse verdict, money and power questions remain Vatican City, Feb 16, 2019 / 10:00 am (CNA).- The Holy See announced Saturday the conviction of Theodore McCarrick on charges of the sexual abuse of minors and adults - aggravated by the abuse of power - and solicitation in the confessional. The administrative penal process imposed a penalty of laicization. A special congresso of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith imposed the Jan. 11 decision. It was appealed to the Feria IV, the regular meeting of the CDF’s full episcopal membership, who rejected the appeal on...

Pope Francis Tells US Bishops to Stop ‘Pointing Fingers’ on Abuse, Calls for ‘Pastoral Conversion’ NEW YORK – In a landmark 8-page letter to U.S. bishops who are on retreat in response to the clergy sexual abuse crisis that has engulfed the American Church, Pope Francis called for a “new ecclesial season” led by bishops who are more than administrators interested in “pointing fingers,” and instead, leadership marked by “collegial spiritual fatherhood,” rooted in humility and unity.Prior to offering a prescription for the current predicament, Pope Francis began by diagnosing the problem of the Church’s loss of credibility, not only...

NY archdiocese issued suitability letter for priest under abuse investigation The Archdiocese of New York told a California college this month that a local priest had never been accused of sexual abuse, even while the priest was being investigated by the archdiocese for several abuse charges. An administrator at the college called the letter “a lie,” and said she can no longer trust assurances from the archdiocese.On December 4, the New York archdiocese issued a letter stating “without qualification” that Fr Donald Timone had “never been accused of any act of sexual abuse or misconduct involving a minor.”In fact...

Viganò’s Third Testimony Responds to Ouellet, Appeals to Judgment Before God It is striking the way in which Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò has become, in many ways, the kind of hero the Church is so desperately looking for. Today, on the occasion of the Feast of the North American Martyrs — Jesuits who, unlike many of the modern-day variety, gave their lives for the salvation of souls — he has released a third testimony. And with each iteration he becomes more resolute, and the force of his accusations grow stronger. He is a man who speaks with the authority of one...

Note: After this column was prepared for publication, Archbishop Viganò issued a third Testimony, which readers will find in English here. The Archbishop largely confirms what Fr. Murray lays out so clearly below. We’ll be commenting on further developments in the Viganò story in future columns. – RRCardinal Marc Ouellet published an Open Letter to Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò on October 7th in response to Viganò’s first and second testimonies – in particular to his claim that Cardinal McCarrick had been sanctioned by Pope Benedict for sexual immorality with seminarians and priests, and that Pope Francis knew about this but nonetheless set aside or ignored...

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania, October 17, 2018 (1P5) – The Associated Press (AP) is reporting that the U.S. Justice Department has initiated an investigation into the sex abuse crisis in the Catholic Church. U.S. attorney William McSwain issued and served subpoenas throughout the state of Pennsylvania last week, pursuant to a grand jury report that included cases in which 301 “predator priests” were accused of sexually abusing over 1,000 minors over a span of seven decades. While state borders may constrict state attorneys general, the newest move by the Justice Department indicates that federal investigators believe that the gravity and nature of...

October 10, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) – The gutted and repurposed Vatican Academy for Life admonished Catholics over the weekend to cut the “gossip” on the Church’s sexual abuse scandal and trust the Vatican’s handling of the crisis. Responding via Twitter to the October 6 saying Pope Francis is and has been taking care of the Archbishop Theodore McCarrick sexual predation scandal, the Pontifical Academy for Life gave assurances by way of a three-year-old quote from the pope that the truth of the McCarrick scandal would indeed be attained. “McCarrick: @HolySeePress: “We will follow the path of truth wherever it may lead,”...

Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, retired archbishop of Washington, is pictured in a 2017 photo. (Credit: Bob Roller/CNS.) Father Boniface Ramsey, the man who nearly 20 years ago first raised flags about the sexual misdeeds of ex-cardinal Theodore McCarrick, has said the Church, though finally taking action, has not gone far enough.If the pope and bishops are to have any credibility on the issue of sexual abuse and misconduct among the clergy, McCarrick, he said, ought to be laicized and undergo a full ecclesial trial.In a phone interview with Crux, Ramsey said “a good thing would be to laicize McCarrick. That...

Thus far, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, along with more than 30 other bishops, has recognized that the charges leveled in the extraordinary letter of the former apostolic nuncio to the United States must be taken seriously and investigated promptly. “The questions raised deserve answers that are conclusive and based on evidence,” said Cardinal DiNardo. “Without those answers, innocent men may be tainted by false accusation and the guilty may be left to repeat sins of the past.” In the wake of previous revelations that Archbishop McCarrick had been appointed the archbishop of...

September 4, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) – German national TV channel ZDF is rerunning a documentary produced last year that claims that Pope Francis, as Archbishop Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, ignored cries for justice from abuse victims in his diocese. The documentary is now gaining traction in the fallout of Archbishop Viganò’s testimony that the Pope covered-up the abuse of now ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick. The documentary also claims that then-Archbishop Bergoglio, prior to becoming the pope, participated in the unsuccessful defense of a priest accused of abuse. That priest has now been imprisoned for 15 years after he was found guilty of...

Is Cardinal O’Malley Whitewashing the Gay Scandal Investigation of St. John’s Seminary? Several BCI readers have asked what we know about the latest on the investigation into homosexual activity and sexual harassment at St. Johns Seminary.  Based on internal and external indicators, we get the distinct impression the outcome could end up looking largely like a “nothing-burger” and it could be set-up as a whitewashing. A few heads may roll, but not much else will change.When the scandal hit, Cardinal O’Malley responded with great fanfare about the major investigation into St. John’s Seminary. BCI is told that the high-paid folks on the...

METAIRIE, La. (ChurchMilitant.com) - A Louisiana parish was up till last month still allowing a former deacon accused of multiple counts of sex abuse to serve as lector — despite the archdiocese paying out a $500,000 settlement on his behalf. In May, the archdiocese of New Orleans paid out half a million dollars to settle an abuse claim against George Brignac, a former deacon and teacher from Holy Rosary School. Brignac was accused of grooming and raping a young boy numerous times, starting in 1979 when the victim was 8 years old.  The lawsuit was only filed this year because the victim claimed...

More and more evidence is coming out about Bishop Alois Schwarz, the former Austrian bishop of Gurk-Klagenfurt who is now the new bishop of St. Pölten. Reports claim that he covered up for an abusive deacon and for a morally corrupt priest. The Diocese of Gurk-Klagenfurt’s new diocesan administrator is losing no time in his investigations and has now put Schwarz’ close female confidante on a leave of absence.As OnePeterFive reported at the end of June, Bishop Schwarz had come under criticism for having two intimate relationships with female companions, one of them his housekeeper, the other an employee in...