The Roman Catholic Church has been rocked, once again, by revelations of atrocious crimes committed by the clergy and Cardinals. The Pennsylvania Grand Jury Investigation Report documents the latest revelations. Stop and read the report introduction. It can be found here for download or here to read online. Some of the main takeaways are as follows:
- The Roman Catholic Church acted as if following “a playbook for concealing the truth.”1Reference page 3 of the introduction. Members from the FBI National Center for Analysis of Violent Crimes assisted with this determination.
- The Church has put its reputation above the welfare of children.
- The Church does not and has not followed Civil Laws by failing to report predator priests to law enforcement.
With this in mind, consider the structure of the Roman Catholic Church. The “pope” or Pontifex Maximus is at the top, followed by the red hat Cardinals. There are currently 224 Cardinals, of which 16 reside in the United States.
The Pope selects the Cardinals. Likewise, the Cardinals elect the Pope. Birds of a feather, flock together.
These 225 leaders “shepherd” 1.2 billion Catholics worldwide. That congregation includes A LOT of children. It is time to look deeper into these unclean birds. What is going on and above all, where is God?!
Cardinal Wuerl
Cardinal Wuerl is the latest Cardinal to feel the heat from detailed publications of clergy abuse. His name appears over 170 times in the Pennsylvania Grand Jury report. The commission reached the conclusion that “Cardinal Wuerl’s statements [to the Vatican about a pedophile priest] had been meaningless without any action.” Wuerl is accused of shielding 32 predator priests. Watch the following CNN coverage for a four-minute news clip addressing Cardinal Wuerl and the Grand Jury Report findings.
So, Wuerl is another pedophile shuffler following the script laid out by the Vatican itself. What script? Read the Vatican’s own guidance on how to handle abusive priests and note the focus on secrecy and preventing scandal, as covered in this article on the Jesuits.
Cardinal McCarrick
Cardinal McCarrick made the headlines a couple of months ago when it became public that credible evidence existed that he abused a child. The Cardinal “resigned”, but only after his actions became public. On the contrary, the Cardinal’s history is not new news. There have been two settlements in New Jersey because of sexual abuse by McCarrick. Cardinal Dolan falsely claims there have been no other improprieties. See for yourself.
Just this week, another priest has come out saying “everybody knew” about McCarrick. The real story is ‘who is everyone?’
Cardinal Mahony
In 2013, Mahony was stripped of his “priestly duties” as fallout from his handling of the LA abuse scandal. Mahony technically “retired” in 2011, so this ‘slap on the hand’ was a public relations move for the church. Mahoney is still considered a “priest in good standing.” Cardinal Mahony was recently given the prestigious role of representing the Pope in a visit to the US. But he canceled his visit after backlash from the laity. The Pope thinks highly enough of him to make Mahony his representative. Yikes! The Archdiocese of LA was found to have over 220 abusive clergy and reached a settlement in 2007 for over $600 million. Cardinal Mahony is credited with the extensive cover-up for the predator priests. Apparently, Francis is OK with covering up for criminals.
Cardinal Levada
Cardinal Levada is a retired Cardinal currently living in California. Levada was an auxiliary bishop in the LA Archdiocese during the same time that Mahony had the lead. From LA Levada went on to Oregon, which was the first Archdiocese in the US to declare bankruptcy from the abuse scandal. He also worked in San Francisco. Levada took over the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (formerly the Office of the Inquisition) in Rome when Benedict handpicked him for the job. He had assisted Benedict when he was Cardinal Ratzinger in updating the Catholic Catechism, ©1992. Levada is one of three Cardinals named, along with Benedict, for crimes against humanity in an international criminal court. The court did not pursue the case, but in light of ongoing abuse scandals that have occurred worldwide, they should reconsider!
Cardinal Law
There is a need to mention one more US Cardinal, Bernard Law. This ‘lawless’ man died in 2017, but back in the early 2000’s, he was Cardinal for the Boston Archdiocese. The movie Spotlight is based on the scandal that erupted in Boston with Cardinal Law at the center. So, how did the Vatican react to this man who covered up and shuffled predator priests? They brought him to Rome, gave him control of a prominent church and when he died, treated his funeral as if no crimes were committed.
Cardinal Bergoglio
The current “Pope” Francis was formally known as Cardinal Bergoglio from Argentina. He is also a Jesuit. As Cardinal, Bergoglio was not stain-free from scandal. Bergoglio is linked to no less than five incidents, which can be found summarized here. Now as Pope Francis, 2018 has been a tumultuous year, starting in January. After calling abuse victims “stupid” when they protested in Chile, he back-tracked over the next six months. Furthermore, all Bishops from Chile offered resignations as the fall-out from the ongoing investigations. When the Pennsylvania report came out, after over a month delay, the Vatican was silent. Francis issued a letter of ‘sorrow and shame’, but only after an uproar from victims. This organization is leaning on empty words to appease their victims. The calls to withhold donations is most likely the real concern.
Where is God?
There are and will be, more Cardinals embroiled in scandals. There will no doubt be more victims that step forward. This is far from over! But how does this fit into the big picture?
These cardinals, bishops and priests DO NOT REPRESENT GOD. They never have and never will. This organization is contrary to God in all ways. Now consider, Jesus spoke of hypocrites in the New Testament. Likewise, these unholy Cardinals have the same traits as those hypocrites.
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you are like unto white sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and all uncleanness. Even so you appear righteous to men, but within you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.” Matthew 23:27-28
The Cardinal’s Sins
Paul wrote in Romans about men that changed the truth of God into a lie. He continued:
“For this cause God gave them up to vile affections… the men leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly… God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness…” Romans 1:25-29
Who could this be? The Cardinal McCarrick scandal is exposing the “gay culture” prevalent throughout the church hierarchy. Meanwhile, the Pennsylvania report details what those with a reprobate mind have done with children. Over and over again, horrific abuse stories are coming to light. These “shepherds” are pure wickedness!
Paul perfectly described the wicked “shepherds” of the Roman Catholic Church. Why do these priests do these things? Because they have thrown God behind their back and changed the truth of God into a lie. These are the Cardinal’s Sins! Their reprobate mind is a consequence of how they have treated God. In conclusion, it is time to look at the big picture, consider God and get away from these unclean Cardinals!
Unclean and Hateful Birds
What’s next for this organization of cardinals? More ‘sorrow and shame‘ until they are brought to an end. They are falling down!
“…Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of demons and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird (CARDINAL).” Revelation 18:2