First he consulted with the pope, then with the priests of his diocese. Cardinal Donald Wuerl apparently has a lot of food for thought about his role in the abuse scandal in the U.S. What consequences does he draw?
Will he resign or stay? Not only the faithful in the Archdiocese of Washington, which is presided over by Cardinal Donald Wuerl, are puzzled by this. The entire U.S. church is looking at the man who, in his 18 years as bishop of Pittsburgh (1988-2006), allegedly failed to prosecute priestly sexual assaults on children with the necessary vigor.
For weeks, a grand jury's report on abuse in six Pennsylvania dioceses has made headlines. He speaks of 300 priests who have been involved in more than 1.000 children and young people were said to have perpetrated – including during Wuerl's tenure. He allegedly did not intervene forcefully enough and merely moved offenders to other locations.
Mistakes acknowledged
The cardinal has since admitted mistakes. But he vehemently denies that he knew about the abuses of his influential predecessor Theodore McCarrick (88), who has since been removed from the College of Cardinals, in his new place of work in Washington.
Under the radar, Wuerl traveled to the Vatican last week for talks with Pope Francis. Without going into details, archdiocesan spokesman Edward McFadden confirmed to CNN the meeting with the Holy Father on Thursday.
After his return, Wuerl, on the pope's advice, rounded up priests in his diocese to seek their advice. More than 100 showed up, about a dozen of whom took the floor. In addition to thinly veiled calls for his resignation, others asked the cardinal not to throw in the towel but to help resolve the crisis. "I would say the majority of priests supported him," diocesan spokesman McFadden said, describing the meeting. Wuerl was "very moved by the affection he received from his priests".
Open protests from faithful
In the process, there were some open protests from the faithful in parishes, who stood up during the service and vented their displeasure. In many parishes, priests invited to debates.
Father William Byrne of Our Lady of Mercy Parish in Potomac stood in solidarity with his congregation, saying he was going through "grief, pain and anger" with them.
Parish priests Michael Mellone and Andrew Wakefield also faced the faithful, who voiced their protest during a visit by Cardinal. A worshiper stood up during an intercession for the pope and shouted at the cardinal, "Shame on you". Mellone admitted he had originally thought the church had already fundamentally changed with the abuse scandal at the beginning of the millennium. "Now I know it wasn't enough".
The authors of an open letter to Francis and the U.S. bishops make a similar argument: in it, hundreds of Catholic men demand answers and urge a "radical cleansing" of the hierarchy.
Nothing less than the credibility of the church itself is at stake. Similarly, earlier 30.000 women voiced theirs, signing an Internet appeal.
Cardinal Cupich with a consistent crackdown
The Cardinal of Chicago, Blase J. Cupich, showed what consistent crackdown looks like in a recent case. Archbishop close to Francis relieved two priests of their duties after they made headlines for having public sex.
The two priests had been arrested on the U.S. "Labor Day" Monday in Miami Beach while having sex in a parking lot. Police officers led them away before a phalanx of curious onlookers. What is punishable is not the sexual act itself, but its public execution. "We are taking the matter very seriously and will keep you informed," Cardinal Cupich said. "It is our job to make sure that those who serve our people are fit for the job."
If Cardinal Wuerl had taken similar action in much more serious cases involving sexual abuse of children, he would have been spared critical questions today. So the question remains how long he can hold out. Francis could accept Wuerl's resignation, already mandatory at age 75, at any time.