The Rupnik Affair Will Leave an Indelible Mark on the Francis Papacy

How bad is this Rupnik business? It is very, very bad. The Rupnik business is worse—by orders of magnitude—than l’Affaire Barros, l’Affaire Inzoli, worse even than l’Affaire Zanchetta. The disgraceful rehabilitation of Danneels is mere tasteless imprudence by comparison. The Rupnik business will stain Pope Francis’s legacy, and possibly define it. Over the past several … Read more

Francis Packs the Conclave

Pope Francis on Sunday announced a consistory for the creation of new cardinals, and it’s a bumper crop. On September 30th, eighteen new red hats will gain voting rights in the next conclave, bringing the total number of electors to 137. Ninety-nine of them have their hats directly from Francis. With the new creations, as … Read more

Former Cheyenne Bishop Skates on Abuse Charges

The Vatican has exonerated Bishop Joseph H. Hart, emeritus of Cheyenne, Wyoming, on seven counts of child sexual abuse. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which handled the canonical process, also said five other accusations “could not be proven with moral certitude.” The accusations against the 89-year-old Bishop Hart involved 11 victims who … Read more

Accusations of Grave Mishandling of Abuse Case Across Church Jurisdictions

A priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Fr Kevin McGoldrick, is quietly seeking voluntary laicization after that archdiocese investigated a claim he sexually assaulted a young woman who had been in his spiritual charge. The Philadelphia archdiocese determined the allegation to be credible roughly seven months after they received it directly from the victim. The … Read more

Why is the Vatican Keeping Bishop Scharfenberger in the Dark?

Bishop Edward Scharfenberger of Albany, New York, is in a tough spot. Appointed apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Buffalo after the resignation of Bishop Richard Malone, Bishop Scharfenberger is the public face of the Church in a place riddled with scandal and in dire need of urgent repair. But he apparently has little power to effect reform and little information with … Read more