Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, a former Vatican ambassador to the U.S., shared on Sunday that he told Pope Francis about accusations of sexual abuse made against a prominent priest in 2013. Vigano reported that despite being told about the accusations, Francis took no action. The Archbishop is now urging Francis to step down.
In a statement released by Vigano on Sunday he said, “In this extremely dramatic moment for the universal Church, he [Pope Francis] 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.”
CBS News spoke with Vigano who said, he decided to speak out now “to combat the grave situation in the church, to protect the church and also to stop future abuse.”
CBS News reports that Vigano told the producer Anna Matranga that he had no agenda in releasing this statement and that he was simply stating facts.
The Archbishop recalled a conversation he had with Francis in June 2013, shortly after Francis became pope. The pair talked about Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, who is the former archbishop of Washington, D.C. McCarrick resigned last month after claims came out that he sexually abused seminary students and an altar boy.
In his statement Vigano states that he told…
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