Pope Francis has ordered a “thorough” internal inquiry into records held on Archbishop Theodore McCarrick’s sexual misconduct against seminarians. At the same time, the Vatican has admitted its handling of the McCarrick allegations may have fallen below contemporary standards.
A statement from the Holy See released on Saturday revealed that Francis has ordered a study of the “entire documentation” held in the archives of Vatican departments about the former Cardinal Archbishop of Washington, saying it will “follow the path of truth wherever it may lead”.
But the Vatican cautioned that the “relevant facts” in the case need to be placed into a “historical context” so that they can be assessed.
“The Holy See is conscious that, from the examination of the facts and the circumstances, it may emerge that choices were taken that would not be consonant with a contemporary approach to such issues,” the statement says.
The move comes almost a month after Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò released a "testimony" claiming that he told the Pope about Archbishop McCarrick “corrupting” seminarians and that Benedict XVI placed McCarrick under sanctions. While these restrictions were private and unenforced, Archbishop Viganò, former papal ambassador to the United States, claimed the Pope should resign for allegedly rehabilitating the 88-year-old former cardinal.
When asked about the Archbishop Viganò, Francis said he would not say a “single word” on the matter and asked journalists to study the testimony and make a judgment. But he added: “When some time passes and you have drawn your conclusions, I may speak.”
In his testimony Archbishop Viganò said the Vatican first became aware of the allegations of sexual misconduct against McCarrick in the early 2000s, under John Paul II. Documentation from the affair, sources in Rome say, could lead to questions being asked about how the Polish Pope's Vatican handled misconduct claims against senior Church figures.
In their 6 October statement, the Vatican said: “The Holy See will, in due course, make known the conclusions of the matter regarding Archbishop McCarrick." This follows a 10 September announcement that the Vatican was preparing to provide necessary “clarifications” about the matter.
Today’s statement explains that in September 2017 the Archdiocese of New York notified the Holy See that McCarrick had been accused of abusing a minor, starting a chain of events that saw the archbishop both removed from ministry and his position as a cardinal.
“The Holy Father ordered a thorough preliminary investigation into this, which was carried out by the Archdiocese of New York, at the conclusion of which the relative documentation was forwarded to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith,” the Vatican explains.
“In the meantime, because grave indications emerged during the investigation, the Holy Father accepted the resignation of Archbishop McCarrick from the College of Cardinals, prohibiting him by order from exercising public ministry, and obliging him to lead a life of prayer and penance.”
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