Bill Donohue comments on an editorial from the National Catholic Reporter slandering St. John Paul II:
Over the years, I have documented the attacks by the dissident Catholics at the National Catholic Reporter against the Church. Hardly a day goes by that they do not impugn at least one aspect of the Faith. However, their editorial “US Bishops, Please Suppress the Cult of St. John Paul II” sinks to an even greater low as they seek to censor this beloved saint.
The Reporter cites Pope John Paul II’s “calamitous, callous decision-making” regarding former Cardinal McCarrick for why the legacy of this holy man must be cancelled. Particularly, the Reporter believes that he “willfully put at risk children and young adults in the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., and around the world” while setting “a deplorable example for bishops in ignoring the accounts of abuse victims.”
Oh, how they cherry pick their history.
While the Reporter is quick to note that St. John Paul II personally instructed the Vatican’s Secretary of State to add McCarrick to the list of those being considered for promotion, they fail to note that it was John Paul II who initially removed McCarrick in the first place over concerns for his “moral maturity.”
When claims of sexual misconduct reached the pope, following standard protocol, he asked for an investigation into the matter. While accusations of McCarrick’s vile acts did arise, other bishops came to his defense and discounted these allegations.
Further, McCarrick used personal relations in the Vatican, particularly a letter written to John Paul’s personal secretary, Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, to assure the pontiff that nothing was amiss.
Even though there is sizable evidence that St. John Paul II took proactive steps (although, in hindsight, less than effective ones,) and he was misled by McCarrick, the Reporter argues that now the chief item to address next week during the annual U.S. Bishops’ Conference should be “requesting the Vatican formally suppress John Paul’s cult.” These dissidents will only be happy if the Swiss Guard is sent out to remove his name and image from every church, school and other public venue.
In reading this editorial, one gets the sense that the true villain of the “McCarrick Report” is not the predatory ex-cardinal, but rather Pope John Paul II. This allows the blame to shift away from the true perpetrator of the crimes, and in doing so, one could argue that the Reporter has done more to cover for McCarrick than John Paul ever did.
It is ironic as it is perverse, that the Reporter, which is quick to judge others for the clergy sexual abuse scandal, denies its own role in contributing to it. To be specific, its relentless attacks on the Church’s teaching on sexuality enabled sick men to justify their homosexual assaults.
While every pontiff who is mentioned in the “McCarrick Report,” in hindsight, could have done more to confront the homosexual ex-cardinal, to hold St. John Paul II particularly responsible and to banish any public devotion to him is beyond the pale. In cancelling his legacy, look for the dissident Catholics at the Reporter to fill the void with some charlatan more in line with their deranged preferences.
