A former papal envoy to the United States has called on Pope Francis to resign after alleging the Pope knew about abuse allegations against former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick and failed to act.
Italian Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò stated this hours after the Pope condemned the “repugnant crimes” of sexual abuse by clergy during his two-day trip to Ireland.
According to a Roman Catholic media outlet, cruxnow, Viganò asserts that Francis actually repealed sanctions imposed on McCarrick by Pope emeritus Benedict XVI in the late 2000s, despite the fact that Viganò personally briefed Francis in June 2013 about McCarrick and the charges of misconduct and abuse.
CBS News spoke by telephone to Vigano on Sunday, who confirmed he wrote the statement and said he was speaking now “to combat the grave situation in the church, to protect the church and also to stop future abuse.”
He told CBS News producer Anna Matranga that he had no agenda and was stating facts.
“In this extremely dramatic moment for the universal Church, he must acknowledge his mistakes and, in keeping with the proclaimed principle of zero tolerance, Pope Francis must be the first to set a good example to Cardinals and Bishops who covered up McCarrick’s abuses and resign along with all of them,” he wrote.
Viganò served as the Papal Nuncio to the United States from October 2011 to April 2016, serving both Popes Benedict and Francis.
Meanwhile, the Pope has continued his call on the faithful to seek forgiveness from the Lord.
“I beg the Lord’s forgiveness for these sins and for the scandal and betrayal felt by so many others in God’s family,” Francis said in Ireland on Sunday.
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