A former nuncio to the US has claimed Pope Francis knew about sanctions imposed by Benedict XVI on then-Cardinal McCarrick but chose to remove them.
In an 11-page testimony released to Catholic media, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò said Pope Benedict had imposed on McCarrick sanctions similar to those now imposed by Pope Francis, and that Viganò personally told Pope Francis about them in 2013.
The archbishop says Pope Francis “continued to cover” for McCarrick to the extent that he not only failed to “take into account” the sanctions but also made McCarrick “his trusted counsellor”.
