Last week, I argued that the specifics of the accusations made by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò were less important than the reform of clerical culture which his “testimony” revealed is necessary.
Both Viganò himself and Cardinal Marc Ouellet, prefect of the Vatican Congregation for Bishops, inadvertently revealed a culture where – even at the highest levels and involving the most prominent people – uncomfortable or awkward matters are simply not brought up. Cardinal Ouellet never raised the McCarrick matter with either Benedict or Francis, and Viganò did not challenge McCarrick himself when he observed the former Archbishop of Washington violating the instructions given to him.
