Rabbit Hole: Cupich Commends Ouellet's Attack on Vigano, Reaffirms "Communion" with Francis

Cardinal Blase Cupich, From the Archdiocese of Chicago Website

In a "statement" posted today on the Archdiocese of Chicago website, Chicago's Cardinal Blase Cupich sided with Prefect for the Congregation of Bishops Cardinal Marc Ouellet who yesterday released a strongly worded letter, criticizing Vatican whistleblower Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò and defending Pope Francis.

Viganò had called on Pope Francis to resign for, among other things, covering up the sexual crimes of Cardinal Theodore McCarrick and rehabilitating him after McCarrick had been quietly sanctioned by Pope Benedict.

Viganò released his 11-page letter on August 25 and then went into hiding.

Cardinal Cupich initially responded to the controversy surrounding Viganò's letter by arguing that looking into the substance of the claims would be to go down a "rabbit hole." In a widely criticized television interview, he said that the pope has “got to get on with other things, of talking about the environment and protecting migrants and carrying on the work of the Church.”  

Francis has refused to directly address this charge and charges of his involvement in other sex-abuse coverups following in its wake but has made thinly-veiled attacks on Viganò and other critics, going so far as to equate him or them with "Satan."

In turn, Ouellet yesterday called Viganò's accusation "monstrous and unsubstantiated" and part of a "political plot."

Many have commented that Ouellet did not really deny and in fact arguably confirmed the basic substance of Viganò's main charge.

In his original letter Viganò had also claimed that Cupich's elevation to Archbishop of Chicago was recommended by Theodore McCarrick. Others have confirmed that it was supported by Pope Francis over the alternative choices and objections of other bishops, including Cupich's predecessor Cardinal Francis George.

Here is Cardinal Cupich's statement:

Statement of Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago, on the Open Letter of Cardinal Marc Ouellet, October 8, 2018

In a statement released by the Vatican Press Office on Saturday, October 6, Pope Francis pledged a thorough study of the documentation present in the Archives of the Holy See regarding the former Cardinal, now Archbishop Theodore McCarrick. The Holy Father took the occasion to renew his commitment to address the scourge of abuse within the Church, and to do everything possible to prevent it. In the Vatican declaration, the pope also stated that the Church will not tolerate any cover-ups or accept a different standard for bishops who abuse or cover up, calling this behavior “a form of clericalism that is no longer acceptable.” This clear statement does not come as a surprise to me, for I am convinced that Pope Francis has no hesitation in following a path of accountability. As he remarked during his visit to the United States in 2015: “We will follow the path of truth wherever it may lead.”

The first installment of fulfilling this renewed pledge of openness came the very next day by Cardinal Marc Ouellet, who has served as the Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops since his appointment by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010. In an authoritative and compelling manner, he provided a detailed response to the central charges against Pope Francis regarding the case of Archbishop McCarrick. Cardinal Ouellet made clear that the Holy Father has given him the full freedom to speak in a way that provides information based on his personal experience and the documents of the Congregation for Bishops.

In his capacity as Prefect, Cardinal Ouellet also called to account those attacking or countenancing attacks on the Pope and the Church. In that spirit, I join my voice to those of the Prefect and of the President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in urging “all in the Church particularly the bishops to reaffirm our communion with Pope Francis who is the visible guarantor of the communion of the Catholic Church.”