Sparks are flying again…
Francis says he knew “Nothing” about McCarrick — “Abp.” Viganò says he’s Lying
Today, two significant developments took place regarding the Francis-McCarrick-Viganò drama: The Mexican television station Televisa released a lengthy interview its journalist Valentina Alazraki conducted with the “Pope”, in which the Jesuit apostate declares that he had no knowledge whatsoever of the accusations of sexual misconduct against Ex-“Cardinal” Theodore McCarrick; and a former personal secretary and long-time aide to McCarrick published correspondence from his erstwhile boss showing that “Cardinals” Donald Wuerl and Pietro Parolin were very much aware of the restrictions that had been placed on McCarrick by Benedict XVI, something Wuerl first denied and then denied having denied — sort of.
But not enough. Late in the day, a third development has now hit the news wires: “Abp.” Carlo Maria Viganò, the former Vatican nuncio to the United States who has been camping out at an undisclosed location since accusing Francis of being involved in sex abuse coverup himself, has addressed Francis’ denial and stated flat out: “What the Pope said about not knowing anything [about McCarrick] is a lie.”
There is plenty of documentation for all this.
First, the raw data:
- Televisa Interview with Francis (Full Transcript, Spanish)
- Televisa Interview with Francis (video excerpt)
- English Summary of Interview (Vatican Media)
- Report on Key Findings in Correspondence Concerning Theodore E. McCarrick (PDF, compiled by “Mgr.” Anthony Figueiredo)
- The Figueiredo Report — Web Site of Anthony J. A. Figueiredo
- Interview with McCarrick’s former Secretary (video; CBS News)
Then, some reports and commentaries:
- “In new interview, Pope Francis says he ‘knew nothing’ about McCarrick” (Crux)
- “Pope Francis Confirms he ‘did not know anything, nothing’ about McCarrick” (Zenit)
- “In Mexican TV interview, Pope Francis denies knowing of McCarrick restrictions” (America)
- “Newly Published Mccarrick Letters Vindicate Viganò” (Church Militant)
- “Leaked McCarrick correspondence confirms Vatican restrictions” (Catholic Herald)
- “Pope Francis denies knowing of allegations against McCarrick” (Catholic Herald)
And finally, the news about Viganò weighing in:
Directly addressing the question what he knew about “Uncle Ted” McCarrick’s sexual abuse, Francis said in the interview published May 28:
Of McCarrick I knew nothing, obviously, nothing, nothing. I said it several times, that I didn’t know, no idea. When [Viganò] says that he spoke to me that day [June 23, 2013], that he came… I don’t remember if he told me about this, whether it’s true or not, no idea! But you know that I didn’t know anything about McCarrick; otherwise I wouldn’t have kept quiet, right? But the reason for the silence: first because the evidence was there for you to judge. It was an act of trust really. And second, because of [the example of] Jesus, that in moments of viciousness you can’t speak, because it’s worse. Everything is going to go against you. The Lord taught us that way and I follow it.
[Spanish original:] De McCarrick yo no sabía nada, obviamente, nada, nada. Lo dije varias veces eso, que yo no sabía, ni idea. Y que cuando esto que dice que me habló aquel día, que vino… Y yo no me acuerdo si me habló de esto. Si es verdad o no. ¡Ni idea! Pero ustedes saben que yo de Mc Carrick no sabía nada, sino no me hubiera quedado callado, ¿no? Pero este porqué de ese silencio: primero porque las evidencias estaban ahí, juzguen ustedes. Fue un acto de confianza realmente. Y segundo, por esto de Jesús, que en momentos de ensañamiento no se puede hablar, porque es peor. Todo va a ir contra de uno. El Señor nos enseñó ese camino y yo lo sigo.
(Source)
Concerning this answer by Francis, “Abp.” Viganò said the following to Life Site‘s Diane Montagna:
What the Pope said about not knowing anything is a lie. …He pretends not to remember what I told him about McCarrick, and he pretends that it wasn’t him who asked me about McCarrick in the first place. …He tries to be clever, claiming that he doesn’t remember what I told him, when he was the one who asked me about McCarrick.
(italics given)
There is more interesting testimony provided by Viganò that is quoted in Montagna’s piece. His comments are presented in disjointed fashion and so are somewhat cumbersome to piece together to make a coherent whole, but the Life Site report is worth reading in full.
Although Viganò accuses Francis of lying, and that is big news in itself, the fact remains that until someone can provide proof that Francis was aware of the sexual misdeeds of McCarrick, the Jesuit apostate will always come out on top, because it is his word against Viganò’s, and the former nuncio is not even willing to show himself in public.
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