Pope Francis and Mccarrick: Where Does the Evidence Lead?

By Dan Hitchens
Catholic Herald
August 31, 2018

http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/commentandblogs/2018/08/31/pope-francis-and-mccarrick-where-does-the-evidence-lead/

Archbishop Vigano made four major claims. But do the facts support them?

Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano’s testimony, published on Saturday, goes on for 7,000 words and names more than 30 public figures, mostly to denounce them. But at its heart are a small number of very serious allegations about Pope Francis’s treatment of Theodore McCarrick. Since the letter’s publication, some more evidence has emerged against which to test Vigano’s major claims. How do the allegations stand up?

Claim 1: Pope Benedict XVI imposed sanctions on McCarrick

Vigano writes: “Pope Benedict had imposed on Cardinal McCarrick sanctions similar to those now imposed on him by Pope Francis: the Cardinal was to leave the seminary where he was living, he was forbidden to celebrate [Mass] in public, to participate in public meetings, to give lectures, to travel, with the obligation of dedicating himself to a life of prayer and penance.” These came into place, Vigano says, in 2009 or 2010.