One year ago today, Pope Francis was asked by a reporter to respond to the recently released testimony of Archbishop Carlo Viganò which implicated him and other top Church prelates in the cover-up of the Theodore McCarrick scandal. When asked whether Viganò had informed him in 2013 about McCarrick’s sexual misconduct, and if it was true Benedict XVI had previously imposed sanctions on the former cardinal, the Pope with his now infamous statement:
Pope Francis’ supporters subsequently responded with a blast of vitriol and calumny in their attempts to discredit Archbishop Viganò. But with each passing revelation over the past year, Viganò has been vindicated while his critics have been discredited, time and time again. At last count, there are no fewer than 13 occasions in which Archbishop Viganò has been vindicated:
- Viganò Corroboration #13: Report Released By McCarrick’s Former Secretary Confirms Viganò’s Testimony
- Viganò Corroboration #12: Former U.S. Nuncio Heard Rumours of McCarrick Misconduct in 1994
- Viganò Corroboration #11: Cardinal Ouellet’s Letter Confirms Sanctions Were Imposed on McCarrick
- Viganò Corroboration #10: Did Cardinal Maradiaga Just Confirm Viganò’s Claims About Pope Francis?
- Viganò Corroboration #09: Argentine Author Says Viganò Speaking the Truth about Pope Francis
- Viganò Corroboration #08: Letter Confirms Vatican Officials Knew of McCarrick Allegations in 2000
- Viganò Corroboration #07: ‘Retired’ Cardinal McCarrick Traveled the Globe During Francis’ Papacy
- Viganò Corroboration #06: Viganò Story About Kim Davis Is Confirmed
- Viganò Corroboration #05: When Francis Rebuked Vigano
- Viganò Corroboration #04: McCarrick Was Removed from Living at the Seminary
- Viganò Corroboration #03: Pope Benedict Confirms He Disciplined McCarrick
- Viganò Corroboration #02: Spokesman Confirms Cardinal Wuerl Cancelled McCarrick Meeting with Seminarians
- Viganò Corroboration #01: Former Nunciature Official Says ‘Vigano Said the Truth’
276 days after he initially appeared to take a ‘vow of silence’, Pope Francis finally responded to the McCarrick scandal stating:
“about McCarrick I knew nothing, obviously—nothing, nothing.”
As Phil Lawler pointed-out in his analysis of the situation, “a lapse of memory is a perilously weak foundation for a pope’s authority.”