“No one in the world can change the truth. What we can do and should do is to seek truth and to serve it when we have found it.”     St. Maximilian Kolbe

The truth of which St. Maximilian Kolbe speaks, of course, is the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, revealed to us through His Church, which is His Body.

But, Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (Jn 14:6). So, all truth is Jesus, even truth about the nature of the world, the good truth and the bad.

Today, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, former apostolic nuncio to the United States, claims that those in the highest ranks of the Church knew about Abp. Theodore McCarrick’s crimes and ignored them, allowing him to continue to rise in the Church and to become the leading voice of influence to the pope on matters pertaining to the Church in the United States, including the naming of bishops. According to Abp. Viganò, those who ignored McCarrick’s crimes and considered his counsel include former Vatican City Secretaries of State Cardinals Angelo Sodano and Tarcisio Bertone, current Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, current Archbishop of Washington, Cardinal Donald Wuerl and, most significantly, Pope Francis.

Abp. Viganò says that Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, while in office, placed disciplines on Abp. McCarrick similar to those recently imposed by Pope Francis, but that Pope Francis released McCarrick of those disciplines, allowing him to travel and lecture, and that Pope Francis regarded McCarrick’s counsel on matters related to the Church’s relationship with the Obama administration and in the placement of Cardinal Blaise Cupich as Archbishop of Chicago and Cardinal Joseph Tobin as Archbishop of Newark. Neither of these men’s names were presented to the pope through the apostolic nuncio, which is the normal procedure. Rather, according to Abp. Viganò,  their elevations “were orchestrated by McCarrick.”

Abp. Viganò’s says that Pope Francis has known of McCarrick’s crimes since 2013. “He knew he was a corrupt man,” Abp. Viganò’ says, “he covered for him to the bitter end. … It was only when he was forced by the report of abuse of a minor, again on the basis of media attention, that he took action to save his image in the media.” Abp. Viganò pulls no punches, claiming that Pope Francis “is abdicating the mandate which Christ gave to Peter to confirm the brethren.” He is calling on Pope Francis to “set a good example to cardinals and bishops who covered up McCarrick’s abuses and resign along with all of them.”

Abp. Viganò says he is revealing this now because the People of God deserve to know the truth and that he wants to “discharge my conscience in front of God of my responsibilities as bishop for the universal Church.”

This is, of course, a great sadness. I do not know Abp. Viganò and can say nothing regarding his integrity. But, these allegations must be addressed and, if true, cannot be ignored and set aside without consequence. The darkness that has been allowed to infiltrate the Church, the darkness of Judas priests who regarded their own sensual pleasures before their commitment to Christ, the darkness of priests who were willing to sacrifice the innocence and dignity of those minors they abused in order to satisfy their perverted lusts, the darkness of even some shepherds of the Church to protect these criminals, allowing them to continue in their horrible crimes, this darkness must be relinquished by the light of Christ, Who is Truth. If that burning, cleansing light reveals the failure of those even at the highest levels of the Church, then so be it. The truth will set us free.

St. Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle.
Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the Devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray,
and do thou,
O Prince of the heavenly hosts,
by the power of God,
thrust into hell Satan,
and all the evil spirits,
who prowl about the world
seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

Be Christ for all. Bring Christ to all. See Christ in all.