What did Donald Cardinal Weurl, Washington's retired archbishop, know about his pervy predecessor, the ex-cardinal Theodore "Uncle Ted" McCarrick, and when did he know it? That question has agitated American Catholics ever since McCarrick's depredations came to light last summer.
Well, now we have an answer: Wuerl knew much more than he first let on. In fact, Wuerl was aware of allegations of McCarrick's predatory behavior going back at least 15 years, and he misled the Catholic faithful in the capital and across the nation instead of speaking with the honesty required of a disciple of Jesus.
That's according to the Catholic News Agency, which first reported Thursday's bombshell statement from the Diocese of Pittsburgh, where Wuerl was bishop from 1998 to 2006, before he was appointed to Washington.
In 2004, Pittsburgh's diocesan review board heard an allegation about McCarrick's misconduct with seminarians. The allegation made its way to then-Bishop Wuerl's desk, who, in turn, "made a report of the allegation" to the Vatican's embassy in Washington within days.
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