・教皇、ワシントン大司教の辞職願いを受理(バチカン放送)+「カトリック・あい」評論+Crux詳報

(2018.10.12 バチカン放送)

 教皇フランシスコは12日、米・ワシントンの大司教、ドナルド・ワール枢機卿から提出された辞職願いを受理された。

 ワール枢機卿は、およそ3年前、75歳の定年を迎えた際、教皇にすでに最初の引退願いを提出していた。ワシントン大司教区はインターネットのHPの「新しい一章へ」と題したページに、ワール枢機卿の辞任の報告と共に、教皇フランシスコがワール枢機卿に宛てた、辞任承認の書簡を掲載。この中で教皇は、ワール枢機卿の辞任願いに「教会の一致とその使命を、支え、育てる行為を優先できるよう」「体全体のより大きな善を識別するために、視野を広げた、司牧者の心」を認めている。

 一方、ワール枢機卿は、同HPで、教皇のワシントン大司教区への配慮と、理解の言葉に感謝を表明。過去の判断の誤りとされるものを謝罪すると共に、この辞任は教区の人々への大きな変わらぬ愛を表すためと記している。

・・ここまでバチカン放送転載

*「カトリック・あい」評論

性的虐待への不適切な対応で引責辞任・・だが、枢機卿の肩書はそのまま

 米国のカトリック教会では、各地で聖職者による未成年者性的虐待が次々を明るみに出、監督する立場にある司教たちへの批判が強まり、深刻な信用失墜が広がっている。そうした中で、ワール枢機卿も、ピッツバーグ教区長時代の1980年代から1990年代に、聖職者による性的虐待に対する対応が不適切だ、として、批判を受け、詳細な調査を受け、最近、教皇に辞表を提出していた。ただ、ワシントン大司教は辞任したものの、枢機卿のタイトルはそのままとされており、性的虐待の訴えを隠蔽していたのに加えて、自身も神学生などに虐待をしていた米国の高位聖職者が先日、枢機卿のタイトルを剥奪され、”蟄居”を言い渡されたのに比べると、穏便な措置にとどまっており、バチカン放送の公式発表内容も、性的虐待問題には触れず、教皇が最も嫌われている”表面的な””きれいごと”にとどまっており、どうして辞任したのか、背景を知らない信徒には全く理解できない。「説明責任」が果たされている、とは言い難い。米国の信徒たちの聖職者、特に高位聖職者に対する疑念が払しょくされるかどうか疑問だ。

*問題の背景など詳細は以下のCruxの記事をご参照ください。

 Wuerl resigns amid papal praise, will stay as interim administrator

 ROME – After months of speculation, Pope Francis on Friday accepted the resignation of Cardinal Donald Wuerl amid the Archdiocese of Washington’s “Season of Healing,” called by the archbishop in response to the “confusion, disappointment and disunity,” over clerical sexual abuse.

 The announcement comes following several months of intense scrutiny of Wuerl’s handling of sex abuse cases in the 1980s and 1990s in Pittsburg, and after he publicly announced he would implore Pope Francis to let him resign. The resignation effects only Wuerl’s role as the Archbishop of Washington, and he remains a cardinal in good   standing.

In a rare move, Francis has asked Wuerl to remain in the archdiocese as apostolic administrator until his successor is named, and also released a letter in which he praised Wuerl’s actions in seeking the good of his archdiocese over his own personal interests.

An apostolic administrator effectively serves as a “caretaker” of the archdiocese and is not empowered to make significant changes that would affect the incoming archbishop.

In response to Wuerl’s request for Francis to accept his resignation, the pope wrote: “I am aware that this request rests on two pillars that have marked and continue to mark your ministry: To seek in all things the greater glory of God and to procure the good of the people entrusted to your care.”

“You have sufficient elements to ‘justify’ your actions and distinguish between what it means to cover up crimes or not to deal with problems, and to commit some mistakes. However, your nobility has led you not to choose this way of defense. Of this, I am proud and thank you,” he continued.

The decision, along with the pope’s letter, was released on Friday via a statement from the Holy See Press Office, followed by announcements from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and the Archdiocese of Washington.

Wuerl, who is 77 years old, had already offered his resignation at the mandatory age of 75, although canon law allowed him to stay at his post with the pope’s approval.

One of the most prominent members of the U.S. hierarchy, and a staunch ally of Francis, Wuerl’s departure comes at a time when the global Catholic Church is struggling to turn a page on its handling of clerical sex abuse and cover-up.

While the issue of abuse has gripped the Church for the past two decades, a recent spotlight on cover-up, particularly by members of the hierarchy, has led to pressure for decisive action from the Vatican, eventually resulting in Wuerl’s decision to step aside.

In August, the Pennsylvania’s Attorney General released findings from a Grand Jury report chronicling over 70 years of clerical sex abuse and cover-up. More than 1,000 individual cases of abuse are outlined in the report at the hands of over 300 abuser priests.

 Among the report’s most high-profile names was that of Wuerl, who served as bishop of Pittsburgh from 1988-2006.

Despite evidence that Wuerl traveled to Rome at one point in protest over the reinstatement of a priest accused of abuse, the report also detailed that, among other things, he was said to have not only authorized the transfer of known abuser priests, but he also authorized settlement and retirement funds for priests accused of sexual abuse and used diocesan funds to mitigate at least one priest’s sentence in a civil lawsuit.

While Wuerl has strongly defended his actions since the report’s release, maintaining that he “acted with diligence, with concern for the victims and to prevent future acts of abuse,” the fact that he received mention nearly 200 times in the report proved inescapable.

His situation was compounded by the still unknown facts surrounding his predecessor, ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick. In July, Francis accepted McCarrick’s resignation from the College of Cardinals, following revelations of decades-long sexual abuse of seminarians and, at least in one alleged occasion, a minor.

The McCarrick saga has led to months of scrutiny of what the Vatican knew about the former cardinal’s history of sexual abuse and has led to disclosures from the dioceses of Metuchen and Newark, New Jersey that they had settled claims on behalf of McCarrick following his tenure as bishops of both sees.

Wuerl, however, has maintained that he was unaware of any such settlements.

Earlier this summer, just one week before Wuerl was set to deliver the opening keynote at the Vatican-organized World Meeting of Families, which took place in Dublin in August, he withdrew due to mounting pressure following the Pennsylvania Grand Jury report.

During that same week, a publisher announced it had cancelled publication of his forthcoming apologetics book due out this fall, while a Pittsburgh area high school named after the cardinal recently announced it was stripping Wuerl’s name from the institution.

al career in Pittsburgh, where he served as secretary to Cardinal John Wright. From 1981 to 1985, he served as rector at St. Paul Seminary, before being named an auxiliary bishop to Seattle from 1986, until his move to Pittsburgh in 1988.

During his nearly twenty-year stint in his hometown of Pittsburgh, Wuerl sought to revitalize a struggling diocese where his “Parish Reorganization and Revitalization Project” became a model for other dioceses seeking to successively merge congregations. At the same time, his national profile began to strengthen as he took on leadership posts within the Knights of Malta and was a regular speaker at national catechetical conferences, leading to his eventual appointment to Washington in 2006.

In 2010, Benedict XVI elevated Wuerl to the cardinalate, where he built a reputation as one of his most loyal defenders. Such fidelity to the Petrine office continued under Francis, where, since 2013, he served on the powerful Congregation for Bishops, which is responsible for episcopal appointments around the world.

In recent years, Wuerl garnered a reputation for being one of the most prominent backers of Francis’s much discussed 2016 apostolic exhortation, Amoris Laetitia, which provides a cautious opening to communion for divorced and remarried Catholics. This past March he released an archdiocesan pastoral plan for the implementation of Amoris, widely considered to be one of the most comprehensive in the world.

In Washington, Wuerl’s conciliatory tone – where he frequently favored dialogue over partisan demands – led him to work with the Bush, Obama, and Trump administrations on issues ranging from immigration to religious liberty.

At the archdiocesan level, Wuerl was broadly seen as a capable administrator and known for the rigor in which he both adhered to and implemented protocols – a fact that many found hard to reconcile with the way in which he reportedly handled certain abuse cases during his tenure in Pittsburgh.

Wuerl’s leadership skills earned him broad respect among his brother prelates. As recently as Sept. 13, fellow Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York was voicing support.

“He’s a good friend and he’s a tremendous leader among the bishops,” Dolan said of Wuerl. “I kinda hope he doesn’t resign. We need him.”

Upon news of his resignation, his auxiliary bishops in Washington – Mario Dorsonville, Roy Campbell, and Michael Fisher – released a joint statement praising him for his leadership, particularly his work with Catholic Charities and his founding of the Saint John Paul II Seminary, which is now at capacity.

“The cardinal’s decision shows that he has the heart of a shepherd who places the good of the Church and its needs before his own right to justify his actions,” they wrote. “His request and the Holy Father’s response allow the church of Washington to continue to focus on healing and the ability to move forward.”

Similarly, his Chancellor and General Counsel, Kim Viti Fiorentini, said, “His final decision to act in favor of the people he loved and served for twelve years is the most eloquent witness to the integrity of his ministry and his legacy. I am truly thankful for his steadfast fidelity and his courageous and sacrificial commitment to the future of the Church in Washington.”

Wuerl’s also issued a personal statement on Friday, wherein he thanked Pope Francis for his decision.

“I am profoundly grateful for his devoted commitment to the wellbeing of the Archdiocese of Washington and also deeply touched by his gracious words of understanding,” he said.

“The Holy Father’s decision to provide new leadership to the Archdiocese can allow all of the faithful, clergy, religious and lay, to focus on healing and the future. It permits this local Church to move forward. Once again for any past errors in judgment I apologize and ask for pardon,” he continued. “My resignation is one way to express my great and abiding love for you the people of the Church of Washington.”

As of Wuerl’s resignation, there are now five active residential cardinals in the United States.

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2018年10月13日