A former Vatican ambassador to the United States has alleged in an 11-page letter that Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis — among other top Catholic Church officials — had been aware of sexual misconduct allegations against former D.C. archbishop Cardinal Theodore McCarrick years before he resigned this summer. Rumors that had swirled for decades about McCarrick exploded in June when Pope Francis suspended the cardinal. He says he then told Francis about Benedict’s order that McCarrick remove himself from public life. The American Catholic Church is deeply divided over Francis’s leadership, with fault lines similar to those seen in the political realm. All are named by Vigano as being linked by “wickedness.”In the letter, Viganò described several figures who could corroborate parts of his account.

Source: Washington Post August 26, 2018 13:02 UTC