VATICAN: A top Vatican cardinal issued a scathing rebuke on Sunday of the ambassador who accused Pope Francis of covering up the sexual misconduct of a prominent American cardinal, saying his claims were a “blasphemous” political hit job.

Six weeks after Archbi­shop Carlo Maria Vigano threw the papacy into turmoil over his claims about ex-Cardinal Theodore Mc­Car­rick, the head of the Vatican’s bishops office said there was no evidence in his files backing Vigano’s claims that Pope Francis annulled any canonical sanctions against McCarrick.

Ouellet did confirm for the first time that McCarrick, now 88, had been subject to some form of disciplinary measures given uncorroborated “rumours” of misconduct in his past. But Ouellet said the “exhortation” to live a discreet life of prayer stopped short of binding canonical sanctions, precisely because the rumours lacked proof.

Ouellet’s letter was issued on Sunday, a day after Pope Francis authorised a “thorough study” of all Vatican archives into how McCarrick rose through the ranks of the Catholic Church despite allegations he sexually preyed on seminarians and young priests.

The letter, addressed to Vigano but identified as an open letter to the faithful, marked an extraordinary end to the official Vatican silence about Vigano’s claims. In it, Ouellet both defended the pope and excoriated Vigano, asserting that the conservative cleric had used the scandal over sexual abuse in the US to score ideological points with Pope Francis’ critics on the Catholic right.

“In response to your unjust and unjustified attack, dear Vigano, I conclude that your accusation is a political setup without any real foundation that could incriminate the pope, and I repeat that it has profoundly wounded the communion of the church,” Ouellet wrote.

He demanded Vigano “come out of hiding and repent” for having falsely accused Pope Francis and questioned how he could continue to celebrate Mass and pray the rosary given his “incomprehensible and gravely reprehensible” attack on Christ’s vicar on Earth.

The McCarrick scandal has thrown the US and Vatican hierarchy into turmoil, given that it was apparently an open secret in some US church circles that he would invite seminarians into his bed. Two men received settlements starting in 2005 from two New Jersey dioceses after they alleged McCarrick sexually molested or harassed them.

Published in Dawn, October 8th, 2018