As the Catholic Church’s abuse crisis topples cardinals, Pope Francis enacts his culture shift GlobeDebate
Pope Francis waves to worshipers as he arrives for the weekly general audience at the Vatican, on March 6, 2019.Michael W. Higgins is Distinguished Professor of Catholic thought at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Conn.
But times have changed. Hans Hermann Groer of Vienna may be deceased, but he ushered in the legacy of shame back in the 1980s when he abused seminarians. As did Keith O’Brien of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, who also retired in disgrace and died before having to return his red hat. Theodore McCarrick plunged the U.
That’s the theory, at least. Mr. Groer, Mr. O’Brien, Mr. McCarrick, Mr. Barbarin and Mr. Pell broke that special bond, and their complicity in either crimes of abuse or in cover-up has tarnished the image of the College. Popes create cardinals in their own image, men who share their ecclesiological vision of the church and who share their management style. No surprise in that. But of the notorious five listed, it is important to establish that none of them were created by Pope Francis. They are cardinals from the era of John Paul II, and they reflect his priorities.
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