Humanitarian Consequences of Nuclear Weapons and Ethical Imperatives

Vatican City, Oct 22, 2018 / 04:00 pm (CNA).- When drafting Humanae vitae, Pope St. Paul VI showed pastoral concern while emphasizing doctrinal clarity, the Vatican’s secretary of state said Oct. 18 In that way, the pope recognized that “birth control was not a topic that merely regarded Christian couples,” Cardinal Pietro Parolin said. Parolin outlined the process that led Pope Paul VI to draft the encyclical Humanae vitae at an event organized by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.   Published 50 years ago, Humanae vitae is known mostly for being “the encyclical that said ‘no’ to contraception,” Parolin said. The cardinal argued that the text actually goes beyond the issue of contraception to propose an integral vision of procreation.   Paul VI has been described as a pope who acted alone on the encyclical, against the opinion of the majority of theologians involved in the pre-drafting discussion. However, a recently published book on the subject aims to demonstrate that the pope was not alone on Humanae vitae. The book, “The birth of an encyclical,” was written by Gilfredo Marengo, a professor of theological anthropology at the John Paul II Pontifical Theological Institute.   To compile it, Marengo was given access to documents from the archive of the Vatican’s Secretariat of State. He needed a special permission from the pope, since the Holy See’s archives are usually available only after 70 years. The book presents a series of drafts and instructions, as well as a previously unpublished encyclical draft titled De nascendi prolis. That draft was totally replaced by the text that became Humanae vitae. Parolin retraced Paul VI’s “suffering path” in the drafting of the encyclical. “Paul VI,” Parolin said, “looked at Humanae vitae as an immediate development of new and authoritative words that the Second Vatican Council was able to express on marriage and family.”   According to the cardinal, the Second Vatican Council recognized that marriage and family were “at the top of the list of the issues for the presence of the Church in the world.”  Parolin noted that John Paul II and Benedict XVI emphasized the importance of the family during their pontificates, as Pope Francis has also done.   Parolin said that the Church’s approach to birth control was “at the beginning focused on the concern for the possible spread of anti-natalist policies,” and after that there was “the consideration that the obligation to follow moral principles was the only path to make the Church convincing in the world.”   However, Cardinal Parolin noted, “these two position cannot be imposed in abstract way,” but they must be harmonized with “an pastoral – ecclesial wisdom that cannot be found in many of the protagonists of those years.   Cardinal Parolin referred indirectly to the heated discussion that anticipated the publication of the encyclical. The so-called majority report of the commission, in favor of the use of contraceptive pill under certain conditions, was leaked to the press, and published simultaneously in April 1967 in the French newspaper Le Monde, the English magazine The Tablet, and the American newspaper the National Catholic Reporter. Cardinal Karol Wotjytla, the future St. John Paul II, was a member of the drafting committee, though he was unable to take part to the meetings personally. After Humanea vitae was published, Cardinal Wojtyla even asked Pope Paul VI to draft an instruction to explain that what was contained in Humanae vitae has always been part of the Church’s magisterium, and affirm its infallibility.   Such a position shows how the discussion was developing.   St. Paul VI’s figure stands in the midst of this discussion. Cardinal Parolin noted that “texts published and commented in Marengo’s book clarify that the Pope had no doubts about the doctrinal contents of the encyclical, and deny the myth of an uncertain and Hamletic Paul VI.”   Paul VI was rather concerned to find “adequate ways” to present the Church’s teaching, Parolin said. This was reason the pope waited for five years before publishing the encyclical. Because of this pastoral concern, Parolin  said, “Paul VI asked for the help and suggestions of many specialists before maturing his judgment. Then, he spoke out, trusting that he was going to be understood.”   According to Parolin, Humanae vitae must be understood as a “testimony of the fact that the Church cannot enjoy promises of good without recognizing the original unity between conjugal love and generation of life.”   Parolin explained: “If the love of the spouses is the place where the Creator generates new lives, when this does not happen there are many occasions to think the child as an object wished at all cost.”   Humanae vitae, he said, was prophetic, as “50 years ago we could only glimpse the processes the put traditional family into question.” It is not possible to understand the “Humanae vitae mindset if we do not look at the emerging situations of that time.”  

Mexico City, Mexico, Oct 22, 2018 / 11:59 am (CNA).- An auxiliary policeman was shot and killed Sunday defending the home of Cardinal Norberto Rivera, the retired Archbishop of Mexico City. The guard died on his way to hospital shortly after the shooting on Oct. 21. The cardinal was home during the attack but is reported to be safe and unharmed by the incident. According to the Associated Press, the shooting was not an attempt on the cardinal’s life, but has been presumed to be an attempted robbery. The guard had been approached by two unknown attackers, who were pretending to deliver a package. After the suspects rang the doorbell, the guard opened the door and was shot. Reuters reported that at least one of the men had been dressed in military clothes, and, after gun fire broke out, the man was forced back as shots were returned by other guards. The Mexican bishops’ conference expressed "its closeness, solidarity and support” to the cardinal, and offered prayers for the family and the soul of the slain officer. Rivera retired as Mexico City’s archbishop in December 2017.  

Vatican City, Oct 22, 2018 / 10:16 am (CNA).- The 15th ordinary Synod of Bishops is meeting now to discuss young people, the faith, and vocational discernment. Many have referred to this nearly month-long meeting as the “Youth Synod.” This raises a question: What is a youth? In the eyes of the Vatican, a youth is defined as a person between the ages of 16 and 35. This age range extends beyond what is typically considered a “youth” in the United States. Whereas American World Youth Day participants are frequently groups of Catholic high school students accompanied by chaperones, many have observed that World Youth Day participants from European countries tend to be in their 20s and 30s. With that established, what is a synod? A synod is a meeting of bishops gathered to discuss a topic of theological or pastoral significance, in order to prepare a document of advice or counsel to the pope. The Synod of Bishops was created in 1965 by Pope Saint Paul VI, who was canonized earlier this week. Paul VI charted the synod to encourage close union between the pope and the world’s bishops and to “insure that direct and real information is provided on questions and situations touching upon the internal action of the Church and its necessary activity in the world of today.” Ordinary synods happen every three years on issues voted upon by synod delegates elected or appointed from each continent, and from certain Vatican offices. There have been 15 ordinary synods to date. There are also extraordinary synods and special synods. What makes a synod extraordinary? It is a matter of timing. Extraordinary synods are called by the pope outside of the usual timing as a matter of urgency. Special synods address a particular topic and are usually regional. For example, next year there will be a Special Synod on the Pan-Amazonian Region. Instrumentum Laboris is Latin for “working document.” It is developed before the meeting by a small working committee of Vatican officials and diocesan bishops, and frames synod discussions. During a synod, bishops make comments and observations on the working document, and meet in small discussion groups to propose changes to the text, or to suggest new texts and additional areas for consideration. A Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation is a document produced by the pope after synod assembly concludes. It generally reflects the recommendations made by the synod in its final document submitted to the pope, along with his own reflections. The most recent post-synodal apostolic exhortation was Amoris laetitia, which was released after the 2015 synod on the family. New rules for the 2018 synod of bishops say that the pope may approve, as a part of the Church’s magisterium, the final report from the synod fathers instead of producing a separate exhortation. It is not yet determined whether Pope Francis will do this at the conclusion of the synod. Synod Fathers are the bishops and others who participate and vote in a synod. Auditors are people appointed by the pope to participate in synod discussions and interventions within the synod hall, but without a vote on documents. Laypeople and women religious participate in the synod as auditors. In a historic first, the 2018 Synod of Bishops has invited 34 young people participating as auditors. Circoli Minori are small discussion groups in which synod participants who speak a common language work together to produce a report on each section of the working document, along with modi, or proposals, to be included in the final document. At the 2018 Synod of Bishops, there are 14 language groups -- four in English, three French groups, three Italian, two Spanish, one German group, and one Portuguese. “Synodality” is generally understood to represent a process of discernment, with the aid of the Holy Spirit, involving bishops, priests, religious, and lay Catholics, each according to the gifts and charisms of their vocation. This phrase has been emphasized in Pope Francis’ pontificate. In May, the International Theological Commission released a document on “Synodality in Life and Mission of the Church.”  

Vatican City, Oct 22, 2018 / 08:43 am (CNA/EWTN News).- John Paul II spent much of his papacy speaking to youth. Now some of those youth are bishops. On the feast of Saint John Paul II, one synod bishop reflected on how the Polish pope inspired generations of young people, including himself, to pursue holiness. “Catholic youth want to implement ‘the civilization of love’ that was promised by John Paul II,” French Archbishop David Macaire said at a Vatican press conference Oct. 22. The archbishop of Saint-Pierre and Fort-de-France in Martinique is in Rome for the 2018 Synod of Bishops convened Oct. 3-28 to discuss young people, the faith, and vocational discernment. “I attended my first World Youth Day when I was 19 years old in Santiago de Compostela,” Macaire said in French. The 1989 World Youth Day in Spain was the fourth global meeting for young people established by the John Paul II, who went on to celebrate a total of 19 World Youth Days in his pontificate with millions of young people from all over the world. “John Paul II guided me through my youth,” Archbishop Macaire said. Synod fathers should convey the Gospel, he continued, because “young people will receive this legacy.” Earlier in the day, Pope Francis prayed at the tomb of Saint John Paul II in St. Peter’s Basilica. In April 2014, Pope Francis canonized John Paul II along with Pope John XXIII. The Synod of Bishops did not meet Monday, while committees complete writing the draft of the final document and the synod letter to young people. The draft document of the post-synod apostolic exhortation will be presented Oct. 23 and synod fathers will be able to propose their changes individually or as groups, Paolo Ruffini, Prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for Communications, announced. It is up to Pope Francis to decide when the document will be made available to the public, Ruffini added. As the synod nears its close, Bishop Frank Caggiano of Bridgeport, Connecticut said Monday that bishops and other diocesan leaders need to bring “synodality” to the local level. “The document that we will receive tomorrow ... is an attempt to speak to a global community,” Caggiano said. “Let's be realistic, young people in Bridgeport have a very different experience from young people in Nairobi or young people in Caracas,” he continued. One unique experience was shared by a young girl from Guinea, Henriette Camara, who told the synod her story of growing up in a Muslim family. Camara converted to Catholicism, despite parental disapproval, through the witness and community that she encountered in a Catholic scouting group. “The pursuit of holiness is recognizing the will of God and choosing to do it,” said Bishop Caggiano. “This entire synod has been an ecclesial exercise to unlock that pursuit of holiness.”  

Vatican City, Oct 21, 2018 / 01:00 pm (CNA).- A bishop from Lebanon shared at the 2018 Synod of Bishops how his online catechesis program in Arabic has helped him to unite young Catholics across the Middle East. “Thanks to the web I am able to connect many young people from the Middle East. We've also had conversions of young people who have recognized Jesus through our social presence,” Bishop Joseph Naffah said at the a Vatican press conference Oct. 19. Synod fathers from Africa, South America, and the Middle East spoke Friday about their hopes for the future of evangelization and catechesis in a digital age. Bishop Naffah is the auxiliary bishop of the Maronite Catholic eparchy of Joubbé, Sarba, and Jounieh in Lebanon. For five years Naffah has been running an online catechetical program that connects over 500 Arabic-speaking Catholic students in conversations about the faith. Students in the online program include youth in prison, as well as young people with disabilities. “I’ve been moved in particular by one person who is totally paralyzed,” Bishop Naffah said. While positive about the potential of online catechesis, the Maronite bishop also expressed concern that there are websites that contain false Catholic teaching online. Naffah sees a need for a mechanism for Vatican approval of catechesis and teaching shared online, such as a special office to monitor Catholic webpages and then certify sites that accurately reflect the teachings of the Catholic Church. Bishop Kofi Fianu of Ho, Ghana has also found success connecting with young people in Africa through the daily online Bible reflections that he shares with them. “From this apostolate of digital reflections I have been in contact with many of the youth,” said Bishop Fianu. “They interact with me. They ask questions about what I have written in the reflection.” “All of us, first of all, we the bishops, clergy need to be real ministers of the word. When we are able to drink deeply into the word of God, when we are on fire for this word, we can transmit it faithfully and more actively to the youth and the rest of the members of the Church,” Fianu continued. Father Valdir Jose Castro from Brazil said that young people know the language and the grammar of the world of social media and are crucial in assisting the Church to reach out and open the doors.   “The Church needs to study in depth and improve its understanding of technology and the internet in particular so as to discern how she should live there and where fertile soil can be found,” Father Castro said. The internet is a venue where the Church can encourage young people to be “protagonists in evangelization, not just the beneficiaries.”  

Vatican City, Oct 21, 2018 / 05:24 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The throne of Jesus Christ is the cross upon which he gave his life for the world, and those who wish to follow him must be prepared to sacrifice everything, Pope Francis said Sunday. “The message of the Teacher is clear: while the great of the earth build themselves ‘thrones’ for their own power, God chooses an uncomfortable throne, the cross, from which he reigns giving his life,” the pope said Oct. 21. “Jesus says, ‘the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.’” In his mediation before the Angelus, Pope Francis reflected on the day’s Gospel, in which James and John ask Jesus to grant that they may sit one on his left and one on his right in the Kingdom of God. “Jesus knows that James and John are animated by great enthusiasm for him and for the cause of the Kingdom, but he also knows that their expectations and their zeal are polluted by the spirit of the world,” he said. So, Jesus tells them: “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” They must learn that to follow Christ requires sacrifice, the pope said, because “the way of love is always ‘at a loss.’” This lesson, he continued, is not only for James and John, but for all the Apostles, and for Christians of all time, who are infected with the same worldly mentality. As Jesus said: “Whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all.” “It is the rule of the Christian,” Francis said. “The way of service is the most effective antidote against the disease” of searching to be first, “which infects so many human contexts and does not spare even Christians, the people of God, even the ecclesiastical hierarchy.” “Therefore, as disciples of Christ, we welcome this Gospel as a call to conversion, to witness to, with courage and generosity, a Church that bows at the feet of the least, to serve them with love and simplicity,” he stated. After the Angelus, Pope Francis led those present in St. Peter’s Square in praying a ‘Hail Mary’ for those who have given their lives for the faith. He also praised the witness of Bl. Tiburcio Arnáiz Muñoz, a Jesuit priest and founder of the Missionaries of the Rural Parishes, who was beatified in Malaga, Spain Oct. 20. “We thank the Lord for the testimony of this zealous minister of reconciliation and tireless announcer of the Gospel, especially among the humble and the forgotten,” the pope said. “His example impels us to be agents of mercy and courageous missionaries in every environment; his intercession supports our journey.” He recalled the day’s celebration of World Mission Day, and its theme of “Together with the young we bring the Gospel to all.” “Together with the young: this is the way!” he emphasized. “And it is the reality that, thanks to God, we are experiencing in these days of the Synod dedicated to them: listening to them and involving them we discover many testimonies of young people who found the meaning and joy of life in Jesus.” He concluded by greeting the participants of a Rome pilgrimage which took place earlier the same day, which was led by Caritas International and Cardinal Tagle. The pilgrimage was part of an initiative called, “Share the Journey,” which promotes fraternity between immigrants and non-immigrants.  

Vatican City, Oct 21, 2018 / 04:00 am (CNA).- St. John Paul II used the occasion of his first homily as pope to offer a fervent prayer that God would make him, first and foremost, a servant. The former Cardinal Karol Wojtyla delivered the first homily of his 26-year pontificate before a packed assembly in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday, Oct. 22, 1978— 40 years ago this week. His election was a few days before, on Oct. 16. John Paul II began his homily by reaffirming the words that had once been uttered by the apostle Peter in the presence of Jesus: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." “Yes, Brothers and sons and daughters, these words first of all,” the newly-elected pope said. “He who is infinite, inscrutable, ineffable, has come close to us in Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, born of the Virgin Mary in the stable at Bethlehem.” The pope exhorted those seeking God, those who already believe, and those struggling with doubt to pay attention to Peter’s profession of faith in Jesus. Peter’s faith and obedience to a higher calling led him to leave his simple way of life as a fisherman and journey to Rome. “What else but obedience to the inspiration received from the Lord guided him and brought him to this city, the heart of the Empire?” the pope said. “Perhaps the fisherman of Galilee did not want to come here. Perhaps he would have preferred to stay there, on the shores of the Lake of Genesareth, with his boat and his nets. But guided by the Lord, obedient to his inspiration, he came here!” “Son of Poland” On the day he began his new mission as Bishop of Rome, Pope John Paul admitted he was “a bishop full of trepidation, conscious of his unworthiness.” As a self-proclaimed “son of Poland,” John Paul was the first non-Italian pope in more than 400 years. In this moment, as he took over the See of Peter, he proclaimed that the unbroken tradition of the papacy had made him a Roman, too. “Inscrutable is the design of Divine Providence!” he said. “How could one not tremble before the greatness of this call and before the universal mission of this See of Rome!” To his fellow Polish Bishops and to the many Polish pilgrims present, John Paul II said: “Everything that I could say would fade into insignificance compared with what my heart feels, and your hearts feel, at this moment. So let us leave aside words. Let there remain just great silence before God, the silence that becomes prayer...Remember me today and always in your prayers!” Humility and service John Paul II chose not to wear a papal tiara, or crown; the last pope to be crowned was Paul VI in 1963. He said he didn’t want to return to “an object considered, wrongly, to be a symbol of the temporal power of the Popes,” but rather to immerse himself in “humble and devout meditation on the mystery of the supreme power of Christ himself.” The “power” exercised by the popes is service, John Paul II said; service to help all the people of God share in the mission of Jesus as Priest, Prophet, and King. This power expressed itself in “charity and truth” rather than in “the language of force.” “Brothers and sisters, do not be afraid to welcome Christ and accept his power,” the saint said. “Help the Pope and all those who wish to serve Christ and with Christ's power to serve the human person and the whole of mankind.” “Do not be afraid. Open wide the doors for Christ. To his saving power open the boundaries of States, economic and political systems, the vast fields of culture, civilization and development. Do not be afraid.” Though his homily was in Italian, John Paul II— a famous polyglot— also offered greetings to pilgrims in French, English,German, Spanish, Portuguese, Czechoslovakian, Russian, Ukrainian and Lithuanian, asking all of them for prayers.      

Vatican City, Oct 20, 2018 / 08:47 am (CNA/EWTN News).- As the youth synod wrapped up its third week, the bishops and auditors discussed the sexual abuse crisis in parts of the world and how to respond to young people experiencing same-sex attraction. At a press briefing Oct. 20, Archbishop Peter Comensoli of Melbourne said the sexual abuse crisis, the failure of leadership to address abuse appropriately, and the failure of bishops to listen to and believe victims, have come up consistently in synod discussions since day one. He said he believes one of the key things going forward is the need to apologize for failures, to acknowledge shortcomings, and to start implementing better practices. He noted that in Australia, they have had protocols in place for around 20 years for the accountability of bishops. Cardinal Blase Cupich, the archbishop of Chicago, said that if someone came forward with an accusation, or there was a charge against him, he would welcome an investigation and would not stand in its way. What the bishops are hearing from young people, he said, is the need for accountability and transparency – that no one, especially clerics, are exempt from being held accountable for the actions or inactions. Though the abuse crisis is “not on the front burner in some countries,” Cupich continued, “the bishops are seeing that it needs to be addressed well” and that it should include the laity, with their presence on review boards. He also pointed out that many of the bishops present for the synod are the president of their local bishops’ conference and will therefore be back in Rome in February 2019 for a summit addressing abuse prevention. He said he sees these conversations as a springboard for going forward. Though he said Catholics will have to wait and see how the Vatican organizes the February meeting of bishops, he has a lot of confidence in Pope Francis as “a man of action,” who will want concrete things to come out it. “Yes, there’s a lot of anger out there,” Cupich stated, “but beneath that anger is a lot of sadness, a sadness that the Church should be better and should get this right.” As part of the Synod of Bishops Oct. 3-28, small language groups presented reports on their discussion of the third part of the working document, called the Instrumentum laboris, for the assembly on young people, faith, and vocational discernment. In the small group chaired by Cardinal Cupich, and which Comensoli and Cardinal John Ribat of Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea are a part of, they discussed the issue of young Catholics who experience same-sex attraction or gender dysphoria, proposing that there be a separate section for this issue in the final document of the synod. The main objective of the section should be “pastoral accompaniment of these people which follows the lines of the relevant section of the Catechism of the Catholic Church,” the report states. In the press briefing Oct. 20, Cupich said a number of the short speeches of synod participants, and small groups, have said they want the final report to say something inclusive of everyone and to address young people with same-sex attraction. “I was asked a question: what is the final document going to have to say to people who have same-sex attraction, have this aspect to their life? My answer was I think the whole document has something to say to everybody,” Cupich said. “We wanted to make sure everyone felt included by what we say. So whatever form that takes, our small group was for it.” The cardinal also referred people to research presented in the John Jay report, which he said shows that the root of priestly sexual abuse is not homosexuality, but many different causes.   Cardinal Ribat said they want to communicate that the Church is a home where everyone is welcome and accepted. He said young people have shared their experiences very freely and encouraged bishops to address it, “in the language they are using.” They say, “call us and address us as this because this is who we are,” Ribat said. The bishops were asked to clarify what they meant by welcoming and accepting young people with same-sex attraction. Bishop Alain de Raemy, auxiliary of Lausanne, Geneve, and Fribourg, Switzerland, said he is concerned with transmitting the Gospel to those who do not know it, and those who want to be Christian, but do not feel represented by the LGBT question. Archbishop Comensoli said it is about recognizing that everyone is a sinner, and everyone needs to be found by God and receive his love. “We are also the sinners who are called to be at the foot of the cross in our lives. So, in the sense of welcoming, of receiving, and of entering into the friendship of Christ, we also take our lives, me included, to the foot of the cross. And that’s every single person,” he said. So, when he speaks with friends who might be homosexual or struggling with their sexual identity, he said, he speaks to the “with the friendship of Christ, as I ought to. And as a friend, I say, how do we progress together to the foot of the cross.” Addressing a concern expressed by many people before the start of the synod, that the Instrumentum laboris was too concerned with sociological ideas and terminology, rather than with the language of faith, Comensoli said he has seen a real shift in the last week of discussions, away from sociology and toward an incorporation of the teachings of the Church, theologians, Scripture, and saints.  

Vatican City, Oct 19, 2018 / 09:44 am (CNA/EWTN News).- As the Church prepares to celebrate World Mission Day on Sunday, the head of the Vatican’s evangelization congregation said the timing of the day with the youth synod provides an opportunity to remind young people they too are called to spread the Gospel. “Together with young people, we bring the Gospel to everyone,” is the theme of Pope Francis’ message for the 92nd World Mission Day, to be celebrated Oct. 21. The Holy Father’s message for this day falls during the “synod for young people with young people,” Cardinal Fernando Filoni said at a press conference Oct. 19. “Therefore, together with the young we bring the Gospel to everyone.” Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, Filoni emphasized a concept found in Lumen gentium: that every baptized person, by virtue of his or her baptism, has the mission to evangelize and to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ – and this applies also to the young, he said. “The pope, when he speaks with young people, says: life is a mission. Do not be inactive. Every life has a missionary characteristic,” Filoni stated. Archbishop Giampietro Dal Toso, president of the Pontifical Mission Societies, underlined that every Christian, no matter their state in life, can pray and lend monetary support to the missions, as able. Filoni also recalled that last year, Pope Francis asked for the entire month of October 2019 to be devoted to prayer and reflection on Ad gentes, a Second Vatican Council decree on the missionary activity of the Church, promulgated by Pope Paul VI in 1965. Francis said he hopes a special month dedicated to evangelization will be a promising time of reflection on the testimony of missionary saints and martyrs, the Bible and theology, as well as catechesis and charitable missionary work of the Church. World Mission Sunday was begun in 1926 by the Congregation for Divine Worship and is now promoted by the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and the Pontifical Mission Societies. Pope Francis’ message for the 2018 edition of World Mission Day was published by the Vatican earlier this year. In a video message, he said, “prayer is the first ‘missionary work’ – the first! – that every Christian can and must do, and it is also the most effective, even if this cannot be measured.” “In fact, the principal agent of evangelization is the Holy Spirit, and we are called to collaborate with Him,” he said May 28.

Vatican City, Oct 19, 2018 / 08:22 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In a new testimony Friday, Archbishop Carlo Vigano charged that Pope Francis has been negligent in his responsibilities to the Church, and responded to efforts to refute allegations he has made in recent months about Archbishop Theodore McCarrick and other ecclesiastical leaders. Vigano also denied charges that he is in rebellion against Pope Francis. Responding to an Oct. 7 letter from the Vatican’s prefect for the Congregation for Bishops, Cardinal Marc Ouellet, Vigano said he is not urging anyone to “topple the papacy,” and that he prays for Pope Francis daily -- more than he has for any other pope -- urging the pontiff to “admit his errors, repent.” However, Vigano’s Oct. 19 statement also defended his decision to “bear witness to corruption in the hierarchy of the Catholic Church,” which he called a painful decision. He said he believes his further silence would cause damage to souls and “certainly damn” his own. Responding to the charge that he has created confusion and division in the Church with his testimony, Vigano said “impartial observers” know there was already an excess of both, a situation which he blames at least partially on Pope Francis. Confusion and division, he said, “is inevitable when the successor of Peter is negligent in exercising his principal mission, which is to confirm the brothers in the faith and in sound moral doctrine. When he then exacerbates the crisis by contradictory or perplexing statements about these doctrines, the confusion is worsened.” "Therefore I spoke. For it is the conspiracy of silence that has wrought and continues to wreak great harm in the Church -- harm to so many innocent souls, to young priestly vocations, to the faithful at large." Vigano’s statement outlines the principal claims he made in his original Aug. 25 testimony about Archbishop Theodore McCarrick and the knowledge he says the Vatican and Pope Francis had regarding of the ex-cardinal’s sexual abuse of seminarians. Vigano’s latest testimony also summarizes what he considers Ouellet’s main arguments. “In brief, Cardinal Ouellet concedes the important claims that I did and do make, and disputes claims I don't make and never made.” Refuting a claim by Ouellet, that the Holy See was only aware of “rumors” about Archbishop McCarrick and nothing further, Vigano said that “to the contrary, that the Holy See was aware of a variety of concrete facts,” and has documentary proof in the appropriate archives, where “no extraordinary investigation is needed to recover them.”   "The crimes reported were very serious, including those of attempting to give sacramental absolution to accomplices in perverse acts, with subsequent sacrilegious celebration of Mass." The attempted sacramental absolution of an accomplice in a sin of sexual immorality is a "grave delict" in the Church's canon law, for which a priest can be punished with excommunication. Vigano conceded a statement from Ouellet’s letter that there were not canonical “sanctions” against Archbishop McCarrick (as claimed by Vigano in his original testimony) but that there were “conditions and restrictions” against him. He said that he believes “to quibble whether they were sanctions or provisions or something else is pure legalism. From a pastoral point of view they are exactly the same thing.” The archbishop argued that the public criticism against him following his August testimony was silent on two topics: the situation of the victims and the “corrupting influence of homosexuality in the priesthood and in the hierarchy.” It is not a matter of politics or “settling scores,” he said, but “about souls.” He said it is “an enormous hypocrisy” to condemn abuse and feel sorrow for victims, but not denounce the “root cause” of much sexual abuse: homosexuality within the clergy. He also accused homosexual clergy of “collusion,” and called clericalism an instrument of abusers, but not the “main motive.” “I am not surprised that in calling attention to these plagues I am charged with disloyalty to the Holy Father and with fomenting an open and scandalous rebellion,” for calling attention to “homosexual corruption,” he said. Vigano ended his testimony by asking any priests or bishops who have access to documents, or who have other knowledge, to testify to the truth of his statements. “You too are faced with a choice,” he charged. “You can choose to withdraw from the battle, to prop up the conspiracy of silence and avert your eyes from the spreading of corruption” or choose to speak, he said.