Pope Francis refused to comment on the charges brought against him by Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, who claims that the pontiff was trying to hush up the case of one of the American cardinals suspected of molesting minors. Questions about the 11-page statement of Vigano journalists fell asleep Francis directly on board his plane, during his return after an official visit to Ireland.

"With all sincerity, I will tell you and all interested people here: read this document carefully and make your own conclusions. I will not say a word about it. These statements speak for themselves, and you have enough journalistic experience to come to your own conclusions, "France Channel 24 quoted Francis as saying.

In his statement (published as a single document on 11 pages - RT ), Archbishop Vigano claims to have informed Francis about the accusations against Cardinal McCarric back in 2013 - almost immediately after Francis ascended the throne.

"Holy Father, I do not know, you are personally acquainted with Cardinal McCarric, but if you ask the congress of the bishops, they will have a thick file on him. He has seduced seminarians and priests for generations, and Pope Benedict personally ordered him to retire from the throne and spend the rest of his life in prayer and repentance, "the National Catholic Register quotes Wigano as saying.

The Archbishop claims that he communicated this characteristic to the Pope in person, but McCarrick was not excommunicated and continued to officially represent the Vatican. Vigano believes that Francis did not apply any measures for political reasons, in order to acquire in the person of the American Cardinal an ally in the internal affairs of the Holy See.

Vigano said he had informed the Vatican's top officials of suspicions about the American cardinal earlier - in 2006. According to him, McCarric was suspected of sexual harassment against seminarians when he was a bishop of the Diocese of New Jersey. Vigano, who himself served as the papal envoy in Washington from 2011 to 2016, told reporters that he did not receive a response to his 2006 report either.

At the end of his appeal, Vigano calls on the Pope to resign, along with the cardinals and bishops who covered McCarrick's crimes.

"Cardinal shamelessly lies"

Cardinal McCarrick himself denies all charges. However, he resigned, which Pope Francis accepted on July 28. Shortly after the announcement of Bishop Vigano's announcement, another clergyman from New York told the media that he was complaining about the Cardinal's behavior in the Vatican back in 1986.

  • On June 20, 2018, Cardinal McCarric was expelled from public service by the Holy See after checking with the Board of Trustees of the Archdiocese of New York, who found "plausible and reasonable" allegations that McCarric had sexually abused a 16-year-old altar minister.
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In mid-August, the grand jury of Pennsylvania published a shocking report stating that more than 300 Catholic priests corrupted more than 1,000 children and minors for decades. Of these priests, almost 100 were under the auspices of the Pittsburgh Diocese, led by Cardinal Donald Wurl. In his accusatory letter, Bishop Vigano argues that both Wurl knew about the crimes of McCarric and covered it.

"His recent statements that he did not know anything are simply ridiculous. Cardinal shamelessly lies, "- concludes Vigano.

At the same time, Francis himself, who was on a visit to Dublin on August 25, said that the Catholic Church had failed in the struggle against the rascals among the priests. Addressing the Irish Catholics, the Pope noted that the church leaders could not stop the "heinous crimes", and these actions were and remain "a source of pain and shame for the Catholic community."

At the same time, Francis said that he was determined to rid the Catholic Church of this "disaster", but did not specify what measures it was intended to take.

"Not the first time"

Roman Lukin, the head of the Center for the Study of Religion and Society at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, believes that the situation with scandals with corruption and, with the Vatican Bank, caused a huge damage to the image of the Catholic Church in the United States.

"Francis rightly believes that this was a defeat for the church in the fight against universal sin. This is the defeat of the church as an institution. There is a problem, but critics demanding the resignation of the pope forget that it was Francis who raised this problem so openly and recognized it. He supported a number of lawsuits, including in the US, Chile, Ireland and the United Kingdom, "Lukin recalled in an interview with RT.

The expert suggested that perhaps Francis was reported about this earlier, but since there was no trial, the case was not given a hearing. This can affect his image as a leader advocating for the openness of the church.

"This kind of event, of course, will affect the perception of the person of Pope Francis himself and his image as an open and sincere spiritual leader. If the situation with Cardinal McCarric corresponds to reality and Francis in 2013 missed the information he received, he must repent of it himself, "Lukin expressed his opinion.

According to him, despite the accusations, Francis remains a pontiff, who did more than his predecessors to make the church more transparent. However, he could succumb to the pressure of the internal structure of the Holy See.

"The Catholic Church is a large world structure, and within it there is also an internal struggle. Francis and his associates want to make the church more transparent. At the same time, they need to retain a bureaucratic structure, and here professional professionalism enters into the business - "do not touch your own people until a scandal". All the same, Francis, at least in words, does more than other pontiffs, so that there is no place in this structure to hide the terrible secrets, "Lukin said.

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According to experts, the political motive, which says Vigano, - the acquisition in the person of an American cardinal ally in the internal affairs of the Holy See, may be present, but weakly provable.

Despite a series of scandals involving priests, the Vatican's influence in the United States is increasing, explained in an interview with RT director of the US Roosevelt Foundation for the Study of the US State University. Lomonosov Yuri Rogulyov.

"The number of Catholics in the United States is growing, and in this regard the influence of the Holy See does not fall, but increases. These scandals do not reach all parishioners - in one state it is, in another there. America is a big country, "the expert said.

At the same Rogulov noted that such news, of course, damage the image of the Catholic Church.

"The Catholic Church as a whole is experiencing certain problems, but this is not the case with it for the first time," the expert concluded.