IMAGE: CNS photo/Alessandro Bianchi, Reuters
By Junno Arocho Esteves
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — While recent accusations by Archbishop Carlo Maria
Vigano have created tension in the Catholic Church, Pope Francis is approaching the situation calmly, the Vatican
secretary of state said.
In an interview posted Aug. 30 by “Vatican
Insider,” the online news supplement to the Italian newspaper La Stampa,
Cardinal Pietro Parolin said that
in situations like the current crisis “that obviously creates so
much bitterness and worry,” the pope “has the ability to take a very
serene approach.”
“From what I saw — I haven’t seen him today, but I have
seen him in these days; I was with him during the trip to Ireland and after —
he seems serene,” Cardinal Parolin said.
In an
11-page statement, published Aug. 26, Archbishop Vigano, who served as nuncio
to the United States from 2011 to 2016, accused church officials, including
Pope Francis, of failing to act on accusations of abuse of conscience and power
by now-Archbishop Theodore E. McCarrick. Archbishop Vigano claimed he told Pope
Francis about Cardinal McCarrick in 2013.
Citing the rights of the faithful to “know who knew and
who covered up (Archbishop McCarrick’s) grave misdeeds,” Archbishop Vigano
also named nearly a dozen former and current Vatican officials — including
Cardinal Parolin — who he claimed were aware of the accusations.
Speaking to reporters traveling back to Rome with him from
Dublin Aug. 26, Pope Francis called on them to read Archbishop Vigano’s
statement carefully “and make your own judgment.”
“I think the statement speaks for itself, and you have
a sufficient journalistic ability to make a conclusion,” the pope said.
Cardinal
Parolin said that “one can only express pain, great pain” in a
situation in which a bishop makes serious accusations against the pope.
“I hope that we can all work in the search for truth
and justice, that those may be the points of reference and nothing more,” the cardinal said.
However, when asked his opinion of the veracity of Archbishop Vigano’s
accusations, Cardinal Parolin said he deferred to Pope Francis’ response.
“It is better not to enter into details on those
things,” Cardinal Parolin said. “I repeat what the pope said: You
must read and make your own judgments; what was written speaks for itself.”
– – –
Follow Arocho on Twitter: @arochoju
– – –
Copyright © 2018 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. www.catholicnews.com. All rights reserved. Republishing or redistributing of CNS content, including by framing or similar means without prior permission, is prohibited. You may link to stories on our public site. This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To request permission for republishing or redistributing of CNS content, please contact permissions at cns@catholicnews.com.
