Who Knew What and When?

Father H with some thoughts on the continuing cover up at the (homo)sexual abuse summit.

From Fr Hunwicke's Mutual Enrichment

Meejah accounts of what Cardinal Cupich and Mgr Scicluna said at a News Conference suggest that the meeting currently happening in Rome will fail to address some crucial elements in the present crisis. For example, the abuse of seminarians; and homosexuality.

It also appears that Rome is putting a Rigid stopper on any approach to the big question: 

WHO KNEW WHAT AND WHEN?

Bishop Steven Lopes, Ordinary of the American Ordinariate, in the Anglican patrimonial tradition of plain Parrhesia, has said:

"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 the television cameras clutching their pectoral crosses, saying, 'I knew nothing'. I don't believe it, and I am one of them. I don't believe it. I was a seminarian when Theodore McCarrick was named archbishop of Newark. And he would visit the seminary often, and we all knew."

Cardinal DiNardo, President of the American Episcopal Conference, wanted to do a proper investigation; he was humiliated in the eyes of the entire world, his hand was smacked and he was peremptorily told to Leave It All To Daddy. It is hard not to pass a negative judgement on PF's Rigid determination to keep his own Rigid control over the current spin operation.

Wuerl, disgracefully, is still in charge of his diocese. Farrell, unsurprisingly, is still climbing the ladder, reaping the undeserved rewards of sycophancy. Although as intellectually negligible as most of this crew, smug little Cupich appears increasingly to be His Master's Voice. Under this regime, no member of the cronydom has ever really suffered, until the facts became too notorious to be contained.

From Daneels, who was at PF's side on that dreadful night of his election, and for long afterwards, there has been a pattern. A sick pattern of crony influence and the protection and promotion of cronies.

Some years ago, an English Catholic bishop had to resign, apparently admitting serial unchastity with more than one woman (paedophilia is not the only sin). A secret enquiry took place; it was indeed proper that some persons involved should not be named. But

WHO KNEW WHAT; AND WHEN?

As then an Anglican priest in the same area, I knew. Accounts had even appeared in print around the time of Kieran Conry's Consecration.

I noticed from the Bolletino that Murphy O'Connor (who had been the main organiser of the disastrous election of 2013), just a few days before the Conry scandal finally broke after a distressed husband went to the tabloids, had a private audience of PF.

So that's all right, then. Fixed. Sorted. Chaps have a quiet word with chaps.


Eventually, whether in this pontificate or in the 'clean break' future pontificate for which so many pray, both in America and here and in Rome, questions will have to be answered. Archives will have to be opened. The later this happens, the worse it will look for those whose public narratives have been less than frank. 

And for those who have organised the spin.

And for any shred that is left of PF's reputation. 

I've now finished, for a while, on Cronyism. Cardinal Mueller, in any case, says what needs to be said far better than I can.