Free Republic

A monsignor who worked at the apostolic nunciature to the United States has corroborated an explosive report accusing Pope Francis of rehabilitating Cardinal Theodore McCarrick despite knowing of his record of homosexual abuse of priests and seminarians. Contacted by the Catholic News Agency (CNA), Monsignor Jean-François Lantheaume, the former first counselor at the apostolic nunciature in Washington D.C., declined to give an interview, but affirmed the veracity of the report by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò. “Viganò said the truth. That’s all,” he wrote to CNA.

In an 11-page confession of everything he knows about homosexual predation and silence with regard to it, written on the Feast of the Queenship of Mary — Aug. 22 — former papal nuncio and Vatican ambassador to the United States, Abp. Carlo Maria Viganò, has outed numerous senior members of the hierarchy and said Pope Francis must resign: The homosexual networks present in the Church must be eradicated. ... These homosexual networks, which are now widespread in many dioceses, seminaries, religious orders, etc., act under the concealment of secrecy and lies with the power of octopus tentacles, and strangle innocent...

Dublin (AFP) - Pope Francis "begged for God's forgiveness" on Sunday for multiple abuse scandals within the Irish church but faced accusations by a former Vatican official that he had personally ignored allegations against senior clergy. In front of 45,000 supporters at the rain-soaked Knock shrine in the west of Ireland, the pope sought forgiveness over the "open wound" of the church's sexual abuse scandal and demanded "firm and decisive" measures to find "truth and justice". At a later Mass to tens of thousands of flag-waving worshippers at Dublin's Phoenix Park, the showpiece event of the two-day visit to the...

A former Vatican ambassador to the U.S. said Sunday that he told Pope Francis in 2013 about allegations of sexual abuse against a prominent priest — and that Francis took no action. Now he is calling for Francis to step down. Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano made the claims in a lengthy statement that concludes with a call for Francis' resignation: "In this extremely dramatic moment for the universal Church, he must acknowledge his mistakes and, in keeping with the proclaimed principle of zero tolerance, Pope Francis must be the first to set a good example to Cardinals and Bishops who...

Dear Priests, Deacons, Religious and all Holy Faithful of the Diocese of Tyler, A letter (see below) by Archbishop Vigano, former Nuncio to the United States, raises grave allegations and calls for the resignation of numerous high ranking prelates including Pope Francis. Let us be clear that they are still allegations but as your shepherd I find them to be credible. Using this standard the response must be a thorough investigation similar to those conducted any time allegations are deemed to be credible. I do not have the authority to launch such an investigation but I will lend my voice...

Pope Francis stands accused this morning of covering up the crimes of ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of Washington, one of the most senior and sinister sex abusers in the history of the Catholic Church.The allegation comes from the Vatican’s former apostolic nuncio to the United States, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, 77, who has called on the Pope to resign.In a devastating 11-page written testament, Viganò says Francis lifted severe sanctions imposed on McCarrick for sexual wrongdoing by Pope Benedict XVI, the existence of which has not been made public until now.Viganò writes that he told Francis in person in 2013 that McCarrick ‘had...

The Pope and the Murphy case: what the New York Times story didn't tell you   By Phil Lawler | March 25, 2010 2:55 PM Today's front-page story in the New York Times suggests that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), under the direction of then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, failed to act against a Wisconsin priest who was accused of molesting scores of boys at a school for the deaf.Is the story damaging? Yes. Should the Vatican have acted faster? Yes. Should the accused priest have been laicized? In all probability, Yes again.Nevertheless, before assigning all blame to...

As my good friends know, I lost a daughter to the ravages of alcoholism and a life ruined in her childhood by a child molester. I spent much of my life trying to help, but basically watching helplessly as she suffered and moved from crisis to crisis. As I said at her funeral, a child molester is worse than a murderer; at least when you kill someone they are dead and can’t suffer anymore, and their families have a chance to mourn and then get on with their lives. My child was not molested by a priest, but, because of...