By LISA BOURNE
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (LifeSiteNews) — Pope Francis’ no-comment reply regarding Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò’s testimony implicating the Pontiff and other senior prelates in covering up for alleged sexual abuser Archbishop Theodore McCarrick is insufficient, Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Ill., said on August 28.
And in order for Francis to be accountable in the Church’s sexual abuse scandal as he has promised, Paprocki said, the Vatican must release any files on the disgraced former cardinal.
Paprocki opened his statement: “The former Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, has revealed a set of facts and circumstances that are deeply troubling as they relate to the awareness, actions, and inactions at the very highest levels of the Church.”
He went on to quote Viganò’s testimony, saying Francis must state when he learned of McCarrick’s crimes, and whether the Pope had known for certain about McCarrick on June 23, 2013, when Viganò spoke to him directly about it.
Bishop Paprocki recounted that, when Pope Francis was asked about this Sunday [August 26] aboard the plane on his return flight from Ireland, Francis told reporters, “Read the statement carefully and make your own judgment. I will not say a single word on this.”
“Frankly, but with all due respect,” Bishop Paprocki said, “that response is not adequate.”
The seriousness of Viganò’s statement commanded its full vetting, he said, and if Francis is to provide the accountability he has promised, any relevant McCarrick files must be released.
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