AND THE BEAT GOES ON

So much for bravado!

Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), announced -- with great bravado -- that he was going to meet with Pope Francis and insist that the only way to resolve the many questions regarding the scandal which the disgraced McCarrick has brought to the Church would be by way of an official Vatican investigation, an Apostolic Visitation.

Well, a meeting with the Pope did take place.

During that meeting, the Pope simply handed Cardinal DiNardo his hat and whisked him on his merry way.

There will be no Apostolic Visitation.  That is for certain.

And to show his disdain for DiNardo’s bravado, it is rumored that Pope Francis delicately suggested that he cancel the November General Assembly of the USCCB in favor of a week-long Jesuit, Ignation-style retreat for the Episcopal brethren.

DiNardo didn't know what hit him!

For the present, it appears that the November meeting of the USCCB will go on as scheduled.  Some have suggested that the Bishops may add a day at the end for retreat-like prayer and reflection.

But fear not.  With no Apostolic Visitation in sight, the intrepid leaders of the USCCB have chosen instead to conduct their own investigation which will focus on the four Dioceses in which McCarrick served: New York; Metuchen, New Jersey; Newark; and Washington, D.C.

Of course, the USCCB has no authority to conduct such an investigation and any cooperation with the effort will only be limited to the voluntary cooperation of the four Dioceses.

Meanwhile, the Holy See announced that it will be releasing “clarifications” (whatever that means) regarding McCarrick.  Those “clarifications” are being assembled by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

So, let me see if I got this right.

Cardinal DiNardo insists that the Vatican investigate McCarrick and the four Dioceses in which he served.  Pope Francis dismisses him.  And the Holy See announces that it will issue a declaration clarifying the McCarrick situation after the Vatican, itself implicated in the affair, collects and redacts pertinent documents.

At this point, I am certain of two things.

One, the four Diocese mentioned will hand the USCCB investigating team their hats just as swiftly as Pope Francis handed DiNardo his own.

Two, the two questions that need answering, why McCarrick was allowed to ascend the ranks of leadership and who were the players involved, will remain unanswered by the Vatican “clarifications”.

And the beat goes on.