Pope Francis has named Cardinal Joseph Tobin, a prelate who former papal nuncio Archbishop Carlo Viganò has testified owes his rise to power to disgraced ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, as a delegate to the October synod on youth. U.S. bishops’ president Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, Archbishop Jose Gomez, Archbishop Charles Chaput, Bishop Frank Caggiano, and Bishop Robert Barron … Read more
The crux of Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò’s indictment of Pope Francis comes toward the end of his Memorandum: “Francis is abdicating the mandate which Christ gave to Peter to confirm the brethren. Indeed, by his action he has divided them, led them into error, and encouraged the wolves to continue to tear apart the sheep of … Read more
Will battles erupt within the Catholic hierarchy following allegations by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò that Pope Francis has long been aware of ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick’s sexual misconduct? The prospect of open warfare among the bishops is of course enticing to the growing pack of reporters covering the story. Perhaps more surprisingly, it is also welcome to the … Read more
One can just imagine the panicked phone calls going out on Sunday morning, summoning annoyed associates and partners back to their cushy downtown law offices in New York, Boston, Chicago, and Washington. So many questions, such huge stakes, and now it’s not just money….. there are now criminal law issues hanging over what used to … Read more
Bishop Athanasius Schneider of Astana Kazakhstan, has released an eight-item to-do list of what he says is required to reform the Church steeped in crisis in the wake of credible revelations of corruption and cover-up by Pope Francis. After saying there is “no reasonable and plausible cause to doubt the truth content of the document … Read more
Two confidants of Pope Francis – Father Antonio Spadaro, S.J and the journalist Andrea Tornielli – have both sent out messages in recent days that Catholic faithful should not expect to hear more from the Pope concerning the abuse crisis in the U.S. after his earlier 20 August letter. Papal “ghostwriter” Spadaro says it is … Read more
Monsignor Jean-François Lantheaume, the former first counsellor at the apostolic nunciature in Washington D.C., has said that the former nuncio, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, told “the truth” in his explosive statement released to the press on Aug. 25. The 11-page document contains specific allegations that senior bishops and cardinals have been aware of the allegations … Read more
A former top Vatican official has accused Pope Francis of having known of allegations of sex abuse by a prominent U.S. cardinal for years and called on him to resign, in an unprecedented broadside against the pope by a Church insider. In a detailed 11-page bombshell statement given to conservative Roman Catholic media outlets during … Read more
“The corruption and filth which have entered into the life of the Church must be purified at their roots,” said Vatican Cardinal Raymond Burke in response to a LifeSite request for comment on the release of Archbishop Carlo Viganò’s testimony. The 11-page letter issued by the former papal representative in the United States released to … Read more
I’m going to Italy early next month to give a series of talks about The Benedict Option, which has been published in Italian. This weekend, I was working on my speech, and re-read Pope St. Gregory the Great’s biography of the saint, which is the only source of information we have about his life. This is the … Read more