The dam has officially broken for Pope Francis, with Catholics from varying corners now openly calling for his resignation after Archbishop Vigano’s explosive letter accusing the Roman Pontiff of participating in the coverup of sexual abuse.
In an 11-page letter published this past Sunday, the former ambassador from the Vatican to the United States said that disgraced D.C. Cardinal McCarrick had sanctions imposed upon him by Pope Benedict in 2009 for sexually abusing seminarians only to have those sanctions lifted by Pope Francis himself upon his ascendancy in 2013. In no uncertain terms, the Archbishop concluded his letter with a call for Pope Francis’ resignation, which has prompted many notable Catholics to follow his lead.
Writing on her Twitter account, Fox News host Laura Ingraham called on Catholics to join the Archbishop in calling for the Pope’s resignation.
“Too little, too late from Pope Francis in Ireland,” she tweeted. “I stand with Archbishop Carlo Vigano. Time for the laity to demand a new Shepherd. … Archbishop Vigano has done right by the Catholic flock and the victims of this evil predation committed, tolerated and hidden by the Church hierarchy.”
Despite attempts by the Catholic left to circle the wagons and characterize Vigano as an embittered conservative out to settle a score with a progressive Pope, the credibility of his accusations holds up to much scrutiny. Many high-ranking prelates have defended his character and have openly stated the claims should be investigated. Monsignor Jean-François Lantheaume, the former first counsellor at the apostolic nunciature in Washington, D.C., said flatly that Vigano “said the truth” in his letter. Even the head of the U.S. Catholic Bishops Conference will not openly defend Pope Francis.