It is impossible to overstate the tone-deafness of America’s Catholic bishops in recent years. They seem determined to give the Catholic Church a black eye. The Theodore McCarrick scandal — he was a prominent cardinal in Washington, D.C., who preyed on boys, seminarians, and priests in plain sight for decades — marks one of the lowest points in the history of the Church. In light of that, wouldn’t the bishops want to avoid any and all associations with McCarrick’s memory? Moreover, is it really too much for the faithful to expect his cronies and protégés (whom McCarrick called his “nephews”) to disappear from positions of power?
Apparently, that is too much to expect from the pitiful bishops and derelict Vatican. Almost all of McCarrick’s “nephews” continue to enjoy substantial influence in the Church. Two of the cardinals closest to McCarrick, Blase Cupich in Chicago and Joseph Tobin in Newark, serve as America’s chief bishop-makers on a Vatican board. Cupich and Tobin have paid no price for their prominent association with McCarrick. If anything, it appears to have aided their ascent in the Church. That also holds true for Cardinal Robert McElroy who received a red hat despite his history of stonewalling for McCarrick. (The late psychotherapist Richard Sipe confronted McElroy with evidence of McCarrick’s misconduct and McElroy blew Sipe off.)
In a scarcely believable move earlier this month, the American bishops named Barry Knestout, a former secretary to McCarrick, as the head of their child protection committee. That’s like making a former Jeffrey Epstein secretary the head of New York’s human trafficking agencies.
Continue reading at the American Spectator
Some relevant facts about Bishop Barry Knestout:
- Knestout was Personal Secretary to Archbishop McCarrick in Washington DC ( 2003-2004).
- Knestout reportedly lived in same apartment with McCarrick and Farrell.
- McCarrick was a co-consecrator of Knestout in 2008.
- Known as “Vice Wuerl” in DC circles, was Vicar General under Cardinal Wuerl until 2017.
- Knestout’s coat of arms contains, as he proudly explained after his installation, an element which honors his service to Theodore McCarrick.