The "Final Insult"

Cardinal George Pell with Pope Francis when he received him in audience in October 2020, only six months after his acquittal.

In Australia, previously unknown information, "dark allegations", according to Daily Mail Australia, surrounding the sudden death of Cardinal George Pell is causing a stir. The Australian cardinal died unexpectedly in Rome on January 10, 2023, just days after attending the funeral of Benedict XVI. He had undergone routine hip surgery at the Salvator Mundi hospital in Rome, during which he suffered cardiac arrest.

Pell was first Archbishop of Melbourne, then of Sydney and finally Prefect of the newly established Vatican Secretariat for the Economy. In 2003, Pope John Paul II created him a cardinal. Under Pope Francis, he was called to Rome, but he was treated badly there. When th

e cardinal, as Prefect for the Economy, wanted to bring order to the Holy See's finances, which were divided among countless institutions, he encountered some bitter resistance. Pope Francis abandoned him because of pressure from those who did not want to reveal their cards. 

The indescribable ordeal

Then baseless accusations of sexual abuse surfaced in Australia. An indescribable ordeal began for Pell. He was dragged to court in 2017, convicted and went to prison even though he didn't have to. He was eventually acquitted by the Supreme Court. He published a diary of spiritually extraordinarily valuable value about his time in prison. To this day, he is the first cardinal to be imprisoned in a constitutional state. 

To this day, however, there is a persistent rumour that the accusations which brought Pell to court in Australia were "organised" by the Vatican in order to get rid of the troublesome Australian in a particularly despicable way - and they succeeded. Although Francis sent solidarity greetings had messages of encouragement delivered to him, and criticized the trial and conviction as a "coup", the head of the Church had no comparable gestures for Pell, his cardinal. In fact, none at all. Even when Pell was acquitted, Francis made him wait outside the door for months before he agreed to receive him. Did the Pope have a guilty conscience? Francis also did not entrust the then still sprightly cardinal with any more office.

This behavior strengthened those who suspect the source of perhaps the most vile attack against a cardinal in recent history came from the Vatican. Francis signaled that the Australian was no longer wanted, and there was a reason for this: Cardinal Pell was one of the critics of the current pontificate. Even from prison, he had expressed clear criticism of the then upcoming Amazon Synod after a razor-sharp analysis. And for Francis, the question "For me or against me?" plays a central role.

“His nose was broken”

Let’s hear what Brett Lackey reported yesterday in the Daily Mail Australia:

"Dark claims about George Pell's body emerge after Australia's highest-ranking Catholic dies of cardiac arrest. Cardinal George Pell's body is said to have had a broken nose and was not properly bandaged when he was returned to Australia after his death in Rome."

 

And further:

"His funeral in St. Peter's Basilica four days later reportedly caused great astonishment among Vatican insiders because there was no traditional open coffin."

The Daily recalls that the measures he took as Prefect of the Economy "had brought him considerable backlash from figures within the Vatican, some of whom have since been accused of financial crimes such as fraud, conspiracy and embezzlement".

His task of bringing transparency to opaque financial structures of some long-unmonitored Vatican departments "was also complicated by the fact that Pell was charged by Victoria state police in 2017 on allegations of long-standing child abuse, which led to him spending 13 months in an Australian prison before he was acquitted of all charges on appeal."

His clothes “thrown” into the coffin

The Australian , another daily newspaper on the fifth continent, wrote at the same time that "rumours have been circulating for months at the Holy See that his body was left in disarray after the autopsy", that his clothes were "thrown" into the coffin and that his shoes were missing. The Australian also confirmed citing Pell's brother, that when the body arrived in Australia the family discovered that the cardinal's nose was broken. Andrew Bolt, a columnist for the Herald Sun, Australia's largest daily newspaper, described this in a commentary for SkyNews as a "final insult" to the cardinal that had been inflicted on him in Rome.

"Incompetence" is not ruled out as a cause. At the same time, however, Australian media are pointing to the cardinal's closest associates, who see the rough treatment of the body as "a sign that some in the Vatican have not forgiven Pell for pursuing corruption."

Andrew Bolt puts it this way:

"Pell once told me that he didn't feel safe in the Vatican when he was pursuing criminals. What they did with his body makes me think he was right." 

And further:

"Pell himself said in 2021 that he was surprised at the amount of resistance he encountered within the church when it came to modernising its finances. 'I underestimated the ingenuity and tenacity of those opposed to reform,' Pell said in September 2021."

 

Australia's media point out, without making a direct connection, that on December 16, 2023, ten people, including a cardinal, Vatican employees and external consultants, were found guilty of financial crimes. The so-called "trial of the century" concerned real estate deals in London in which the Holy See suffered losses of 350 million euros.

Cardinal Pell, a strong personality, was not discouraged by the less than fatherly treatment by Pope Francis, but spoke out repeatedly and clearly even after his return to Rome. Since he was convinced that a conclave would soon take place, he tried to establish contacts among the new cardinals and to make them known to each other, since Francis has not convened a consistory for ten years. In the spring of 2022, Pell asked Francis to reprimand Cardinal Hollerich, the Archbishop of Luxembourg, COMECE President and General Relator of the Synodality Synod, and Bishop Bätzing, President of the German Bishops' Conference. At his death, he left behind a spiritual legacy that is a scathing criticism of Francis' pontificate.

When considering these reports, it is important to remember that Australia's media have a lot to make up for with Cardinal George Pell and that journalists are always tempted to jump on the sleazy Dan Brown bandwagon. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that Cardinal George Pell was treated badly.

Andrew Bolt's comment on SkyNews

Note: Pell's history of covering for sex predators and other accusations against him are well known.  Is the traditional blogosphere so desperate for champions that they embrace men like him?  It's so discouraging.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image : VaticanMedia (Screenshot)

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

AMDG

+++Pell’s History of Protecting Sex Abusers

 

Edit: Sciambra is an unfortunate creature who you can’t trust in general, but he at least strives for objectivity. His interview with John Lamont at Church Militant is particularly useful, despite his occasional and unnecessary autobiographical interjections. People think that because they’re “victims” that they have authority. 

John Lamont is unusual, since he works at Church Militant and yet accuses the pope of being a heretic. What’s going on there? Unfortunately, he doesn’t talk about Pell’s other credible accusers of lurking around the pools, and doesn’t seem to think there’s a lot of evidence for Pell himself being an abuser. I don’t agree there. 

Neither is Pell is a friend of tradition, according to Lamont (Pell writes an encomium on Chardin of all things) nor is he anything but a mediocre functionary.

Here are the time stamps:

00:00  Sciambra Introduces John Lamont, who works with Church Militant.

Sciambra says positive things about Voris’s showboat apostolate. Positive about CMs attacks on SSPX and FSSP.

2:43 Church Militant is the only one that takes victims’ stories seriously.

3:00 Reviews credentials starting in Canada, then as Gifford Fellow in Scotland.  His book, “Defending the Church Against Present Heresies” by Arucca Press which is an attack on Bergoglio’s heresies. Wow!

5:00 hired at Sydney Seminary because he studied under a liberal peritus at Vatican II and got to know Pell.

6:20 Pell has a long history of covering up sex abuse and belongs in jail.

6:35 Discussion of Pell’s alleged exoneration by the Australian Supreme Court and Traditionalist  Catholics defense of him.

8:20 Picture of Pell going to court with convicted sex offender, Gerald Ridsdale, which leads Sciambra to dig deeper.

We haven’t heard much about this in the USA.

10:00 John Lamont begins by way of an introduction of the history of the Australian Church . 

10:50 Joseph Banks initiated Penal Colony in 1788 in Botany Bay with convicts and their guards. Penal colony till 1850s gold rush.

11:50 Colony was brutal for minor offenders who were slaves till the end of their terms. Protestant dominance is the colony was very cruel for Catholics.

14:00 John Bede Polding, English Benedictine who wanted a chain of monasteries, but was pushed aside by the Jesuits. 

15:25 Australia is dominated by Freemasons

15:30 Canberra was planned by occultists. Wow!

16:20 Sciambra intervenes about his secrecy hobby horse.

17:00 The laity depended on the educated clergy for matters secular and spiritual.

18:00 But it’s not a bad thing, “huddling” per se, says Sciambra, but the tendency to keep things in house…. [These people always want to rationalize these things with historicism, aimed at the hierarchal nature of the Church.]

18:50 Pell’s father was a boxer who owned a pub and ran a bookie

20:30 Cardinals and bishops are singled out and Sciambra finds this very interesting.

21:00 Ballarat’s background as a mining time and Pell’s tenure there till 1975. It’s essential to understand Pell.

22:00 Bellarat is notorious. Pell first addressed sex abuse in 1974 by not doing anything about a boy who said he was abused.

23:40 14 credibly accused clergy.  850 children claimed to be abused by Christian Brothers and 30 committed suicide.  

24:00 Diocese of Ballarat is a criminal organization.

24:40 Pell was a man of ambition.  So he was committed to getting ahead in the organization he belonged. Use your knowledge to get ahead. 

25:50 Ridsdale  Royal Commission determines Pell knew about the abuse. Kerns asks Pell about Ridsdale, which Pell denies and is not found credible by Commission

26:00 Ridsdale is the worst and most sadistic abuser in Australian Church. Pell accompanied him.

28:15 Appears in court with Ridsdale to send a message. Do what I want and I’ll protect you.

30:00 Pell knew pedos were running it or had the veto, so he played that game.

30:40 Pell admits he knew about it when he sent Ridsdale to treatment in the US. Sciambra discusses Farrel who claimed he didn’t know about McCarrick. (He takes the time to take a catty shot at traditionalists)

33:10 Ridsdale’s nephew, David Ridsdale approached Pell

33:30 John Walsh accused of abuse by John Walsh, nothing happens so Pell promotes him. He’s easier to control. Ridsdale’s nephew, David, claims he was offered money.  Walsh is compelled by Pell to testify, with no effect, and then causes his victim John Walsh to speak out. Gives insight on the Royal Commission being good on the Catholic Church.

36:30 Explains the Royal Commission which documents are available on line. 

37:30 Explains Wollongong and mayor Frank Arkell who was bludgeoned to death by a Satanist. He and the local police and clergy were in on preying on children. https://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/4095493/the-wollongong-leader-that-fell-prey-to-a-twisted-killer/

39:00 Walsh quits under duress. (After being told by Pell to lie)

39:30 Sciambra interrupts to quote Pell’s defense of appearing in public with Ridsdale.  Compares it to Bergoglio’s hypocritical lies, and turns to discuss how Bishops are chosen.  Pell shouldn’t have risen after his 1993 hearing at the Royal Commission, but he gets promoted. Talks about the “tone deafness” of the people deciding who gets promoted.

42:00 Talks about “Precious Little” Bishop Little who protected pedos himself. 

43:00 Sciambra talks about the gravity of Ridsdale’s crimes.  Talks about the “those were the times” defense people like to use, as well as an unfortunate comparison to Nuremberg. 

45:50 Melbourne Response, an alleged independent commissioner who is a representative of the Church to offer a $50k payoff and NDA.

47:40 Canon which demands that clergy should be punished.

48:50 Sciambra cites from Melbourne Response that victims have the right to approach the civil authority but claims will be “strenuously defended.”

50:04 Case of John Ellis who is an attorney and victim by Adrian Duggan, who gets sued by the Church when the court decides the Catholic Church can’t be sued and they go after him to recover their legal costs of $1.5 million. 

53:30 Pattern with Pell where he is brutal to abuse victims. He denies knowing about Ellis to Royal Commission, which found Pell as not credible.

58:10 Pell’s arrogance and absence of remorse.

1:01 What is the purpose of the Melbourne Response?

1:02 Vatican Bank conspiracy. 

(Pell has some good traits, not completely devoid of humanity, like Pope)

1:03:30 Pell was the kingmaker of the Australian Church under JPII. Not men of principle, but those who would obey him.

1:04:20 Pell is viewed favorably by traditionalists and Neocons. 

1:06 Pell is not a traditionalist, but permits them. FSSP parish dinner, a meeting on the Latin Mass which he thought was a fundraiser with lots of old people and he saw all the young people and threw away his prepared speech filled with erudite discussion on the Mass and talked about how horrible the old Mass was.

1:07:18 Old Irish Gangster

1:07:50 Traditionalists want scraps

1:08:25 Why not Vigano instead of Pell?

1:09 Fessio publishing Pell’s prison journals to raise money to cover his expenses. [Ignatius Press sucks]

1:11 The jury didn’t care about the evidence, they just saw all the dirt on Pell in addition to that.

1:12 Pell is the only Cardinal to go to prison, even though he deserved to go to prison for the things he DID do.

1:13:20 Quote from Pell saying he didn’t have much interest in the victims stories and suffering. People gasped at that during the hearing. Thug and sociopath coming out…

1:17 Picture of Saint Patrick’s Seminary with Pell and Archbishop Cordileone. He’s like a boxer who won’t go down, he’s been to jail and he’s back out swinging.

1:19 David O’Hearn now convicted of dozens of offenses. Things are so bad in Australia… Bishop Heather was caught shredding documents. Exercising sex Ed program, Bishop Vincent Long.

Caught Heather coming out of a night club which led to Heather retiring, who still appears at Australian Bishops’s Conferences.

1:22 Celeste Patterson, it’s like Dame Edna Experience skit

1:23 if Pell could have gotten to the top by burning pedos at the stake, he would have done that.

1:23:10 priests who tried to do the right thing and got “squashed”.

1:24:40 System is broken

1:24:50 Benedictine monastic system as an alternative to keep the bad ones out.

1:26 Sciambra doesn’t like top-down model. [Lame]

1:27 How do you keep your faith? Fabulous Rod Dreher couldn’t!

1:28 He plugs his book, Divine Faith. About the rational basis for the Catholic Faith

1:30:30 Religious Education Meeting in LA. They’re just corrupt mediocrities.

1:31:02 there is a narrative that’s been spun about Pell. Do your reading, Catholics!

1:32:30 Pell should have lain low for the victims he trashed.  Why didn’t he go to the beach house he inherited from his mother? He built a luxurious palace for himself in Rome. Leopard can’t change its spots. I guess he and his supporters want to do their victory March.

1:34:10 Pell was accused falsely. Thinks that Pell himself wasn’t an abuser.

AMDG

Here are the Time stamps:

After the Acquittals: Half-Audience for Barbarin None for Pell

(Rome) Last Friday, May 29th, Cardinal Philippe Barbarin was received by Pope Francis. It was the first meeting between the head of the church and the purple bearer since his acquittal by the court, where he was charged with covering up sexual abuse by a priest who is now a layman. It was not an audience for the cardinal. The second acquitted cardinal, the Australian George Pell, is also waiting to be received by Francis and thus rehabilitated. However, neither seems to have been intended and desired by Rome in either case.

No return despite acquittal. Two cardinals have so far been brought to justice in connection with the sexual abuse scandal: Cardinal Barbarin for cover-up and Cardinal Pell for sexual abuse. An unprecedented situation in the history of criminal law. Both were acquitted after several years of proceedings and media prejudice. Pope Francis' attitude towards both remained ambivalent. Even after the acquittals, there was no direct audience, which would be a visible sign of their rehabilitation.

Ex-Communist Sees Another Dreyfus Case in Cardinal Pell

Giuliano Ferrara defends Cardinal Pell against a "scandalous" conviction.

(Rome) By historical comparison, a journalistic and intellectual heavyweight is taking sides with Cardinal George Pell, convicted in Australia at first instance. Giuliano Ferrara, publisher of the daily Il Foglio, sees behind the condemnation of the cardinal an anti-Catholic campaign disguised as anti-abuse. It's about an operation that is of far greater dimension and importance. The keyword "sexual abuse" is in the concrete a particularly useful cloak for the media, in order to emotionalize public opinion.

On February 28, Ferrara wrote an editorial for the newspaper he edited:

"The case of Pell is the new case Dreyfus. The shame lies with those who now turn away. "

The allusion points to the Dreyfus affair in France at the end of the 19th century. In 1894, the French captain Alfred Dreyfus was convicted of treason. He was falsely accused of having spied for the German Reich, the archenemy of the French then. The captain was sentenced in 1894 to life-long deportation to Devil's Island, a convict colony off the coast of French Guiana.

Dreyfus' dwelling on Devil's Island

The affair was highly charged with emotions because Dreyfus, a Jew born in Alsace, was loaded up with the pent-up anti-Semitism. The conflict sparked over the entire French public. In the Dreyfus figure some circles sought to combat  Judaism. The case became the biggest political scandal of the Third Republic. Emile Zola's "J'accuse ...!" (I object ...!) Became famous in the defense of Dreyfus. His intervention slowly changed public opinion. In 1899 the captain's sentence was reduced to ten years. In 1906 his acquittal and rehabilitation took place.

For Giuliano Ferrara, the case of Pell is of the same dimensions. The conviction in Australia was a new Dreyfus case. In addition, the outright sedition of public opinion in Australia has to be remembered in an anti-Catholic sense, which accompanied the Pell case from the beginning. The well-known intellectual writes:

The Pell case "is an anti-Catholic campaign disguised as a fight against abuse.”

This is not a shame for Cardinal Pell, but those who now turn away in a hurry, change the side of the street and keep quiet about the new case Dreyfus.

"Today hell broke out against Cardinal George Pell, and he runs the risk of ending up in hell [like Dreyfus on Devil's Island] because the prevailing unity of thought about him wants to bring the Catholic Church and its morality to its knees as the last obstacle or potential opposition to global unification in a new, de-Christianized gender and reproduction credo. "

Giuliano Ferrara comes from a liberal family tradition. His parents joined the Communist Party and the Partisan movement under the influence of the fascist dictatorship and the Second World War of 1942. His father became editor-in-chief of the Communist party newspaper L'Unità after the war, Communist Senator of the Italian Republic and head of Lazio Region. The mother was for many years personal secretary of Palmiro Togliatti, the Stalinist leader of the Communist Party of Italy (1927-1934 and 1939-1964). Ferrara himself was at the forefront of the 68 riots and then became a full-time party official of the Italian Communist Party and fraction spokesman in the municipal council of the communist city of Turin. In the 80s, however, he increasingly distanced himself from communism, switched to the socialists and finally in the 90s to Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia. During this time, he also made an approach to the Catholic Church under Pope John Paul II, for which he found a special veneration and solidarity for Pope Benedict XVI.

In 2008, Ferrara initiated an initiative for an international abortion moratorium, but it remained unheard of by the dominance of the abortion lobby.

The condemnation of Cardinal Pell, on which Ferrara is to make an example, sees him as part of a gigantic, anti-Christian cultural struggle. In detail, in his editorial he dissects the allegations against the cardinal and his "scandalous" conviction for a "secret abuse victim." That is a modern "witch hunt".

As early as February 27, Ferrara had criticized the Vatican's reaction to the conviction of Cardinal Pell. He accused Pope Francis of having "capitulated" and already "preemptively" condemning those in "future" in anticipatory obedience. This is an unacceptable approach in a time of increasing undermining of the rule of law, which deserves this name and is not just the product of the powerful right now.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi

Image: Il Foglio (screenshot)

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

AMDG

Pope Wants Money From Rich Religious Rightists He Despises to Cover His Mismanagement and Corruption

Pope Francis with Cardinal Wuerl and Cardinal McCarrick (now ex-cardinal) at a reception for a US foundation called The Papal Foundation. Image: Reception for the Foundation in April 2017 - the last one.

(Rome / New York) More and more revelations give the influence of a "Church mafia on the levers," according to Riposte Catholique, clear outlines. It's also about The Papal Foundation, a foundation largely unknown in Europe, based in the United States.

The purpose of this charitable institution is to raise funds among US Catholics for the financial support of papal projects. Specifically, the ruling Pope will be provided with the means to help the poorest of the poor, to finance the construction and maintenance of schools on a papal request, and to provide scholarships to pupils and students. One of the applicants for the foundation is the pope himself.

The Papal Foundation

Members can be physical or juridical persons, whether companies, foundations or organizations. Anyone who becomes a member undertakes to donate at least one million dollars over the next ten years, with each member making at least $100,000 available annually. With their money, donors can do corporal works of mercy, not by doing it directly, but by letting the Pope choose the people they want to sponsor.

The foundation's assets were estimated at $206 million last spring. In 1990, the first payment was made to Rome. At first it was a million dollars a year, by 2000 three million a year and in 2015 a total of even 15 million.

Meanwhile, the "Papal Foundation" has been drawn into the conflict that has befallen the Catholic Church in the United States. A conflict was fueled by Pope Francis in Rome but recently it takes an unexpected turn.

The reason for this is the sexual abuse scandal that is poaching the Church in the US. In addition, there is the accusation in the air that foundation funds have been misused. It could still have a legal sequel.

It's not just about control over the funds. US Catholics are growing increasingly displeased with the abuse scandals on the one hand, and the papal administration on the other, and the associated attacks on faithful Church circles in the United States. In other words, believing US Catholics, less and less able to support Pope Francis' course, are increasingly tired of being abused by Rome but having to pay money to Rome.

And now in turn.

The foundation was for McCarrick "a lever in Rome"

Archbishop Theodore McCarrick, who lost his cardinal status last July for gross sexual abuse charges against him, was one of the founders of The Papal Foundation in 1988. This is not surprising, since all cardinals residing in the US are automatically members of the board of trustees. Although the foundation is not a McCarrick project, his name is linked to the Foundation like no other US prelate. Therefore, the question is whether McCarrick also used his position on the money for self-serving purposes. After all, he was Foundation Chairman for many years.

Since McCarrick's loss of the hat, the board consists of nine cardinals. There are also six archbishops and bishops and nine laymen appointed by the cardinals.

Last July, as the McCarrick scandal broke out, the Washington Post quoted Steve Schneck, longtime director of the Institute for Policy Research and Catholic Studies at the Catholic University of America (CUA), as saying:

"The Papal Foundation was for him [McCarrick] a great lever in Rome".

Schneck himself often collaborated with McCarrick:

"There is no Catholic organization in the US for which he did not raise any money."

Whoever brings money is usually welcome. McCarrick was a capable fundraiser, as the industry term for "social marketing" is also in the German-speaking world today.

The bankrupt hospital and the Congo royalties

Last spring, the discreetly-based foundation was hit by a controversy in the public headlines. LifeSiteNews published internal documents on an exceptional grant that the Foundation should grant to the Vatican.

The IDI Rome, mismanagement, money laundering, embezzlement

In June 2017, Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin informed the presiding Cardinal of the Foundation, Donald Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington, of a special request from Pope Francis. The foundation will provide $25 million to restart the Dermatology Hospital, including the Cancer Research Center in Rome. He is referring to the Istituto Dermopatico dell'Immacolata (IDI), a highly specialized Order hospital of the Sons of the Immaculate Conception (Congregatio Filiorum Immaculatae Conceptionis, CFIC). The Order was founded in 1857 by lay brother Luigi Maria Monti to assist sick and dying people in Rome. In 1865 they received papal recognition, while the Brotherhood was converted in 1904 into a religious order, which also includes priests. In 1925, the foundation stone was laid for the hospital, during which a large number of Jews were hidden during the German occupation in the Eternal City. The hospital quickly enjoyed a great reputation.

The Order is active on four continents today. The IDI was the prize of the Order’s Italian Province, but fell into the wrong hands. The flagship project became the "scandal hospital", as the Italian media called it. That did not refer to the medical supply, but also a scandalous management. In December 2011, the 250-bed hospital was bankrupt. The whole extent of the scandal became known only over the next few years. Five years was “enough" for the responsible person to drive the renowned clinic financially on the wall. As the Italian prosecutor wrote, the management had accumulated a debt of almost one billion euros. "More debt than 20 countries in the world have," says LifeSiteNews.

In 2013, the three main leaders were arrested, including a priest. The allegation was bankruptcy fraud, money laundering and embezzlement. The arrested priest, Fr. Franco Decaminada, was accused, among other things, of diverting a part of 14 misappropriated millions of euros for himself. Not from the coffers of the hospital, but the Order's province. In addition, he had "withdrawn without any reason" two million in cash from the coffers of the hospital, according to the examining magistrate, who confirmed the arrest warrant. The prosecution seized a villa in Tuscany belonging to a real estate company owned by Father Decaminada. For reconstruction work in the villa, more than 900,000 euros had been diverted from the hospital, according to the Roman prosecutor Michele Nardi.

Bloated costs, incorrect bills and the shadow of 'Ndrangheta, the Calabrian mafia, who is said to have sucked in at the flow of money. In the Congo, the Order received royalties from the oil industry in exchange for medical services from the state. They were managed by a company registered in Luxembourg. However, 50 percent of them had hiked directly into the pockets of "P. Decaminada and his people," according to prosecutor Nardi.

A controversial "wish" by Pope Francis

The grant Pope Francis wanted for the hospital was a hundred times higher than the usual individual grants usually granted by the Pope's Foundation in the United States.

Pope Francis with Cardinal Wuerl and Cardinal McCarrick (center)

Cardinal Wuerl brought the wish of the Pope in June 2017 to the Board of Trustees and surprised his members. He was actively supported by Cardinal McCarrick. In August 2017, the Foundation actually paid eight million to the Vatican. Already at that time, some members of the foundation council had stomach aches, but they did not yet know about the background of the cash flow.

It was the laity in the foundation who wanted to drill and get information, and the more in Italy that it became known, the more indignant the mood became. How could the "Pope of the Poor" use funds destined for charity to clean up corrupt mismanagement? Then donors quit their membership and withdrew from the foundation.

Although the laity opposed it, the Cardinals and Bishops voted in December for another $5 million payment. The money was transferred in January 2018. This was fire on the roof.

An appointed examination board of the foundation criticized the decision. It was "irresponsible, unjustified and ruthless". It would be difficult to find donors in the future, if the money is used in such a way.

The donors are "not milking cows"

In the Catholic Herald, James Longon, a member of the Audit Committee, wrote in March 2018 about the laity like him, the actual funders: "They are business people of great acumen, with years of experience and exceptional achievements." His reproach: how to demand serious business people who make their money decently and hard, use their money to clean up mismanagement, corruption and embezzlement. That was "gross abuse.” The donors are "stewards" and not "milking cows," said Longon, who left the foundation in protest. "I'm 73 years old and I'm getting closer to the judge," because he could not support something like that.

In the spring of 2018, the dispute in the foundation in the headlinesIn the spring of 2018, the dispute in the foundation in the headlines

It was an outrage that Cardinal Wuerl, because of the resistance in the foundation, resorted to means that had hitherto been uncommon. The bishops voted with one exception in the block for the transfer to Rome. There was strong group pressure. None of the prelates wanted to stand as "opponents of the pope."

The Cardinals Wuerl and McCarrick tried because of the mismatch even to bring the payment of the remaining 12 million as quickly as possible on the stage. They argued with an "emergency" in which the hospital is located, which is why urgent action is urgently needed. When the lay people learned that the Vatican had not even passed the eight million in August 2017 to the hospital, the displeasure was complete. Other donors threatened to retreat. The matter became so serious that Cardinal Wuerl finally had to ask Pope Francis to renounce the remittance of the remainder.

Pope Francis reacted angrily and canceled the annual reception for the foundation in March. No money, no audience.

"That's clericalism," wrote the Catholic Herald.

The Pope of the Poor closed the door to be shut in front of the donors when he did not get what he wanted. And what he wanted was not for the poor, but for the settlement of a culpable, corrupt mismanagement.

This explains why a layman is considered one of the founding members of The Better Church Governance Group. This group gathered at the Catholic University in Washington on October 1 and decided to spend more than $ 1.2 million to screen all cardinals eligible to vote. This should prevent another McCarrick case. Not so clearly said, but obviously meant that another case Bergoglio should be avoided, namely the election of a pope, of which hardly anyone knew anything [I’m disagreeing with this. Bergoglio was a known entity when he was elected.] neither what he thinks nor for what understanding he had of the Cchurch.

McCarrick's conflict of interest

The presence McCarrick in the Board of Trustees could still have a big sequel. McCarrick, then a cardinal, attended all four meetings of the Board of Trustees between June 2017 and April 2018, which involved Pope Francis' $25 million grant.

McCarrick strongly supported the papal desire, as various sources confirmed. With the exception of the June meeting, he was under investigation during the other three meetings. The impetus came a few weeks before the June meeting. At least since October 2017, McCarrick knew, according to First Things, that there was an investigation against him. He voted for each of the money transfers to the Vatican. His cardinal dignity, and thus his seat on the Foundation Council, he lost only on July 28, 2018.

This raises the question of whether and what role the cash flows played in his position in the Vatican. First Thingsspeaks of a "serious conflict of interest". Against McCarrick was the position he took for which he decided for cash grants. In return could he hope for leniency? [He made a friend of the mamon of iniquity.] Was that also true in the years before, since he founded the foundation in 1988 and since 1990 had been flowing money to Rome?

According to First Things, he might also be in conflict with the state of Pennsylvania's legal system. To be exempt, charitable organizations must comply with certain requirements, including a check on whether the purpose of the funds granted is respected. In addition, according to the opinion of lawyers, McCarrick due to the conflict of interests, would have to make dormant his seat on the Foundation Board or at least not be allowed to participate in the votes. He could have violated applicable law. This could also challenge the decisions and cause the Vatican to repay the 13 million dollars already transferred.

Cardinal Pell’s departure from Rome

In terms of time, Cardinal Wuerl, who’s departure was announced in June 2017 by  the Cardinal Secretary of State Parolin, coincided with Cardinal George Pell's departure from Rome. Pell left the Vatican the same month and returned to Australia to defend himself against allegations of sexual abuse. At the Roman Curia he was Prefect of the newly established Economic Secretariat. Formally, he is still out of service. Pell has not only the reputation of being a serious champion of zero tolerance, but also a good steward. As a result, the former archbishop of Sydney quickly came into conflict with old Vatican cliques who tolerated no interference in their finances.

The name of Cardinal Domenico Calcagno, Prefect of the Apostolic Property Administration (APSA), was particularly frequent. Pope Francis was more concerned with these circles, who made no secret of having chosen him, than with Cardinal Pell, who is not been counted among the Bergoglians. The responsibilities of the Economic Secretariat were severely curtailed by Francis before they could even be applied. US Vaticanist Pentin wrote this upon Pell’s departure from Rome:

"The longer Cardinal Pell is away from Rome, the more likely it is that the financial misconduct of the 'old guard' will continue and the financial reforms that Pell has been working on will continue to falter."

McCarrick and his circle

It is not just the membership and role of McCarrick on the Board of The Papal Foundation that seems problematic from today's perspective. This is true of at least two other Church leaders who held leading positions in the Foundation, some of them until a few days ago.

McCarrick, whose aberrosexual double life was described as "perverted and diabolical" by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, the former nuncio to the US, was founding president of the foundation and remained there for many years until his cardinal census of 2001.

Bransfield, who was recently appointed Foundation President

Until 18 September 2018, Msgr. Michael Bransfield, Bishop of Wheeling-Charleston, was President of the Foundation. His life is closely linked to McCarrick's. His Protégé Bransfield, became Rector of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington. Bransfield held this prestigious position until his episcopal appointment, which took place in December 2004 during the last months of life of Pope John Paul II. As president of the foundation, McCarrick was his predecessor. In the context of the McCarrick case, the Pennsylvania Report also raised charges against him. On 18 September 2018, Pope Francis accepted his resignation, officially for reasons of age, unofficially because of the allegations. With his resignation, the Vatican announced that investigations into sexual misconduct and abuse were initiated.

The foundation immediately deleted his name from its website.

The third name is that of Thomas Benestad, who was the first managing director of the Papal Foundation from 1988-2001. He is also accused of sexual abuse in the Pennsylvania Report. The Vatican has suspended him from the priesthood. In 2014, however, he was reinstated in his priestly rights because of a statute of limitations in the United States. Today he lives in Florida, in a diocese, but refuses to practice the priestly ministry.

The shadow of McCarrick and his homosexuals lays over the foundation. It is also about the suspicion that he made his position in the foundation selfishly serviceable.

All sides are aware of the importance and influence of the foundation. But there is no doubt that those Catholic circles in the United States are currently rehearsing the uprising, who are tired of being discredited and disparaged from Rome as "religious rightists", while they are watching the pontificate of Francis with increasing displeasure, how the reputation of the whole Church is soiled with filth, of persons especially close to Francis. This simmering conflict is also about The Papal Foundation.

It is also unknown who would convince Pope Francis to apply to the US Foundation for the 25 million grant.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi

Image: Riposte Catholique / The Papal Foundation / IDI (Screenshots)

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

AMDG