Catholics were starting to wonder whether the Vatican would ever respond to Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò’s passionate and sometimes rambling “testimony”, published six weeks ago. Archbishop Viganò claimed that a network of corrupt prelates had protected ex-cardinal Theodore McCarrick, a serial sex abuser. Most sensationally, Viganò said Pope Francis had known about McCarrick since at least June 2013, but had nevertheless brought him into his inner circle. To these extraordinary allegations the Vatican responded with silence. Until now.