Francis finally accepted his resignation, praising him as he did so.

The case against Wuerl plus some words of defense.

But a grand jury report issued in August on rampant sex abuse in six Pennsylvania dioceses accused Wuerl of helping to protect some child-molesting priests while he was bishop of Pittsburgh from 1988 to 2006.

Simultaneously, Wuerl faced widespread skepticism over his insistence that he knew nothing about years of alleged sexual misconduct by McCarrick.

A salient skeleton in his closet:

In one case cited in the report, Wuerl – acting on a doctor’s recommendation – enabled priest William O’Malley to return to active ministry as a canonical consultant in 1998 despite allegations of abuse lodged against him in the past and his own admission that he was sexually interested in adolescents.

Years later, according to the report, six more people alleged that they were sexually assaulted by O’Malley, in some cases after he had been reinstated.

The defense speaks:

His defenders have cited a case that surfaced in 1988, when a 19-year-old former seminarian, Tim Bendig, filed a lawsuit accusing a priest, Anthony Cipolla, of molesting him.

Wuerl initially questioned Bendig’s account but later accepted it and moved to oust Cipolla from the priesthood.

The Vatican’s highest court ordered Wuerl to restore Cipolla to the ministry, but Wuerl resisted and, after two years of legal procedures, prevailed in preventing Cipolla’s return.

A Jesuit would absolve him — or give a light penance.

The Rev. Thomas Reese, a Jesuit priest who writes for Religion News Service, described Wuerl as an ideological moderate.

“He was totally enthusiastic about John Paul II, and then Pope Benedict, and now he’s totally enthusiastic about Pope Francis,” Reese said. “There are not many people in the church who are totally enthusiastic about all three of them.”

Ideological moderate, eh? Or a weather vane.

via WGN-TV

His holding this is no surprise. He’d endanger if not ruin his position as a member of  Pope Francis’ first team if he were to choose otherwise.

But have a look at his explanation:

Cardinal Cupich said, “Well, we have been asked about that already and we responded that that is not our policy and we, as a matter of practice, don’t comment on the policies of other dioceses.”

What’s noteworthy? His use of the royal “we.”

He definitely plays the ruler whom to cross is a big mistake for the climber.

via Chicago Cardinal Cupich: ‘Not Our Policy’ to Deny Communion to People in Same-Sex Marriages

The City of Roses has a taste of the bad guys, police stand and watch.

Some 100 Black Lives Matter activists [sic] with the group Don’t Shoot Portland and their masked antifa allies answered the call to gather downtown Oct. 6. Fists in the air, they demanded “justice” for Patrick Kimmons, killed by police in late September.

Their idea of protest is mayhem. Correction: Police didn’t watch, they just stayed away.

As the crowd made their way to a nearby courthouse, they marched in the middle of the street, bringing traffic to a stop though they didn’t have a permit. Kent Houser, 74, made the mistake of attempting to pass them in his sedan. His car slowly pushed against a masked marcher.

The crowd surrounded the car and started kicking it. After speeding down the block, Mr. Houser stepped out and was assaulted by the mob. They pushed him and smashed his car with clubs after he managed to get back inside the vehicle. No police were in sight even though the central precinct was blocks away.

It’s a very “liberal” city, in which law and order is not particularly worth protecting.

via WSJ

With great success, as noted in an earlier Blithe Spirit post.

But take heed of this, from earlier (extensive) Sun-Times reporting on this matter:

The archdiocese noted “this decision [to remove Fr. Kalchik as pastor] has been in motion for some time and is not directly due to the flag-burning.”

Leaving it up to Catholics and other Americans to noodle about what’s been in motion for some time. Mysterious.

In my memory bank I found this remarkably similar to what the archdiocese said about banishing Fr. C. Frank Phillips some months ago after earlier removing him as pastor of St. John Cantius parish, as reported by Chi Trib:

Although Phillips was not found [by an independent panel] to have violated any church or secular law, archdiocese spokeswoman Paula Waters said there was other information that warranted his removal and a continued ban on his administering sacraments in public within the archdiocese. Waters declined to detail the findings against Phillips.

Left for Catholics et al. to noodle yet again. Pattern here.

Hoax? Egad, were we snookered? Are we still?

Looks that way:

. . . years [after the supposed hate crime of at least several decades], investigative journalist Stephen Jimenez unearthed the truth behind Shepard’s murder, exposing the fact that the popular narrative that Shepard was murdered because of his homosexuality was a lie.

As Mark Alexander wrote four years ago, “After years of exhaustive research on Shepard’s murder, including interviews with more than 100 people — associates of Shepard, his murderers and their associates — a respected journalist, Stephen Jimenez, has published his findings in The Book of Matt.

The book dispels the notion that the murder was related to Shepard’s sexual orientation, and instead concludes he was a meth dealer and sex partner with one of his murderers — both of whom were homosexuals.”

No hate crime, but a lot of crime against readers subjected to, guess what? Fake news.

via Thomas Gallatin, The Patriot Post

Handling him with expensive kid gloves. Heaping praise on a presumably much-abused hero of the church.

In a letter to Wuerl obtained by CNA Oct. 12, Pope Francis told the cardinal: “Your renunciation is a sign of your availability and docility to the Spirit who continues to act in his Church.”

Renunciation? It’s standard to submit resignation at age 75. Such glowing praise for “docility to the [Holy] Spirit”? What about the hundreds who took this required step before him? Such as the ones whose acceptance was received in return mail from Pope Francis? Ye gods and little fishes, has this pope nothing to draw on but tunnel vision?

This this shocker:

“In accepting your resignation, I ask you to remain as Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese until the appointment of your successor.”

This is not how it’s done. An auxiliary bishop or monsignor-chancellor is routinely appointed administrator while new “ordinary” (bishop in charge) is decided upon. Or is ready to take over.

Wuerl, 77, originally submitted his resignation on Nov. 12, 2015, when he turned 75 years old, as required by canon law.

Yes, as above. Under heavy fire, Wuerl had sent a special request a few weeks ago.

The (in this case) ebullient Francis:

“This request rests on two pillars that have marked and continue to mark your ministry: to seek in all things the greater glory of God and to procure the good of the people entrusted to your care,” Pope Francis wrote.

He went further, shooting down Wuerl’s critics:

“You have sufficient elements to ‘justify’ your actions and distinguish between what it means to cover up crimes or not to deal with problems, and to commit some mistakes.”

“However, your nobility has led you not to choose this way of defense. Of this, I am proud and thank you.”

Let us all stand up and cheer, especially in Pittsburgh diocese.

via Pope Francis accepts resignation of Cardinal Donald Wuerl, appoints him interim DC leader

Dinner time argument about a TV show came down to this:

My wish for entertainment was an affront to the show’s right to exist; its being morally good superseded any imperative for it to be creatively better.

What would Aristotle say? “Right to exist” vs. entertainment? Here possible ticket to empty theater seats and (dare we say it?) unsold newspapers. Wagging finger or hands clapping.

more more more at The New York Times

Very interesting operation. Newbies in such matters, maybe stay out of it, you might end up unduly frustrated. But quite a professional, come-one-come-all effort to get the pew-sitters rolling.

To be or not to be, an investigation of accusations by Archbishop Vigano. Do not expect Cardinal Cupich of Chicago to go down this “rabbit hole.”

via Google Sheets