Elapsed time since Pope Francis promised to issue report on Theodore McCarrick
Continual coverage of the COVID-19 scare has served to drive other pressing stories off the front pages.
For Catholics, one important story is suffering from inattention — the long-promised report on the crimes of disgraced former cardinal and abuser Theodore McCarrick has yet to be delivered. It was 612 days ago (July 16, 2018) when a story in the New York Times on the former cardinal’s double life as an abuser of young men and seminarians broke.
First Calls for an Investigation
Within a month, Cdl. Daniel N. DiNardo of the Galveston-Houston diocese, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), issued a statement, calling for:
a full investigation of questions surrounding Abp. McCarrick [he had resigned his position as cardinal]. These answers are necessary to prevent a recurrence, and so help to protect minors, seminarians and others who are vulnerable in the future. We will therefore invite the Vatican to conduct an apostolic visitation to address these questions, in concert with a group of predominantly lay people identified for their expertise by members of the National Review Board and empowered to act.
His statement went on to promise a plan to be presented to the full body of bishops at their general assembly meeting in Baltimore in November 2018. However, that was short-circuited by the Vatican. Signals that the U.S. bishops were going to be prevented from pursuing their plan were sent a few weeks earlier.
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