Saturday Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Cardinal Theodore McCarrick from the College of Cardinals, and suspended him from the exercise of any public ministry.
Pope Francis accepted Cardinal McCarrick’s resignation from the Princely title July 28 and applied a suspension a divinis, which according to canon 1333 in the Code of Canon Law, prohibits him from acts of the power of order and governance and from the exercise of the rights or functions attached to his office.
The Pope also directed Cardinal McCarrick to observe “a life of prayer and penance in seclusion” until the end of the canonical process against him, stated a July 28 press release from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops(USCCB).
Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, President of the USCCB, responded to the Pope’s actions in a Saturday morning statement.
“I thank the Holy Father for his leadership in taking this important step. It reflects the priority the Holy Father places on the need for protection and care for all our people and the way failures in this area affect the life of the Church in the United States,” he said.
Excuse me, but am I missing something here?
Cardinal DiNardo, what exactly did the Holy Father do in taking a leadership step by passively accepting McCarrick’s resignation?
Perhaps, it would have been an exercise in leadership had the Holy Father demanded McCarrick’s resignation.
Perhaps, it would have been an exercise in leadership if the Holy Father had gone before the microphones and cameras (as he is so apt to do on airplanes) and publicly decried the scandal and suffering McCarrick caused over the course of his Priestly ministry or lack thereof.
Perhaps, it would have been an exercise in leadership if the Holy Father had summoned representatives of the USCCB to Rome to castigate them as he did the entire Conference of Bishops of Chile for their lack of responsibility and accountability in responding to allegations of abuse among their ranks.
Perhaps, it would have been an exercise in leadership if the Holy Father had called for an investigation of all those who had any knowledge of McCarrick’s misdeeds yet remained silent and watched as he advanced from appointment to appointment, even being elevated to the College of Cardinals.
Perhaps, it would have been an exercise in pastoral care and concern if the Holy Father had addressed special words of apology and compassion for the victims of McCarrick’s abuse and that which was abetted by those who knew and kept silent.
Rather than seeing anything of leadership or compassion in Pope Francis’ response to the McCarrick scandal, I see reticence, if not cowardice, in not confronting the scandal head on and taking proactive measures to see that will be addressed justly and that victims will be treated fairly and sympathetically.
As I see it, the Pope did not act but reacted and allowed McCarrick the grace (if any) to do the right thing and resign. McCarrick did not deserve that courtesy or respect.
Cardinal DiNardo’s sycophantic praise of the Pope notwithstanding, the Holy Father failed miserably in this sad episode.
Given his enthusiasm in his response to the Chilean scandal, I wonder why.
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