Francis, talking to the reporters abroad his papal plane returning to Rome, said that the 11-page document published by the former Church official urging the pontiff to resign “speaks for itself,” Reuters reported.
READ MORE: Pope Francis Faces Strong Backlash in Ireland Over Child Abuse Issue — Reports
“I read that statement this morning. I read it and I will say sincerely that I must say this, to you (the reporter) and all of you who are interested: read the document carefully and judge it for yourselves,” he said, noting that the journalists have “sufficient journalistic capacity to reach [their] own conclusions.”
Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, the former Vatican ambassador to Washington, who published the document, accused a long list of current and past Church officials being involved in a cover-up for the former Washington DC archbishop Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, who retired last month after allegations of sexual abuses. He is suspected of the abuse of a minor 50 years ago and forcing adult male seminarians to have sexual relations with him.
Several Catholic sources have noted that Vigano’s allegations must be treated with caution because he is a known representative of an anti-pope conservative wing in the Catholic hierarchy and had been accused of misdeeds during the huge Vatican leaks scandal back in 2012.
