Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago and Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington collaborated extensively on a recently proposed policy for handling abuse allegations against bishops, CNA has learned.
Cupich submitted the plan Tuesday to leaders of the U.S. bishops’ conference, proffering it as an alternative to a proposal that had been devised by conference officials and staffers.
The conference’s proposed plan would have established an independent lay-led commission to investigate allegations against bishops. The Cupich-Wuerl plan would instead send allegations against bishops to be investigated by their metropolitan archbishops, along with archdiocesan review boards. Metropolitans themselves would be investigated by their senior suffragan bishops.
Sources in Rome and Washington, DC told CNA that Wuerl and Cupich worked together on their alternative plan for weeks, and presented it to the Vatican’s Congregation for Bishops before the U.S. bishops’ conference assembly in Baltimore. Cupich and Wuerl are both members of Congregation for Bishops.
The Cupich-Wuerl plan was submitted to the U.S. bishops even after a Vatican directive was issued Monday barring U.S. bishops from voting on any abuse-related measures. The Vatican suspended USCCB policy-making on sexual abuse until after a February meeting involving the heads of bishops’ conferences from around the world.
An official at the Congregation for Bishops told CNA on Thursday that the substance of the plan presented by Cupich at the Baltimore meeting is known in the congregation as “Wuerl’s plan.” The official would not confirm whether the congregation had received an advance copy of the document.
Senior chancery officials in Washington described the plan presented Tuesday as a collaborative effort by the cardinals, telling CNA that Wuerl and Cupich first informed the Congregation for Bishops several weeks ago about their idea for the “metropolitan model” to handle complaints against a bishop, and suggested they had continued to discuss the plan with Congregation officials since that time.
“It was a mutual effort,” one Archdiocese of Washington official told CNA.
The idea of amending USCCB policy so that allegations against a bishop would be handled by his metropolitan archbishop was first suggested by Wuerl publicly in August.
While Cupich played an active role in conference sessions this week, and proposed the detailed plan for an alternative to the conference’s special commission, Wuerl did not make any public comment on the plan, which at least some in Rome consider to be “his,” and which he first suggested in public 3 months ago.
Sources familiar with the behind-the-scenes discussions in Baltimore told CNA that Wuerl chose to step back from the plan’s presentation, providing advice and counsel but not seeking to take public credit. A spokesman for Wuerl declined to comment on that decision.
Several bishops in Baltimore told CNA that Cupich appeared to be positioning himself as an unofficial but influential policy-maker in the conference. His status would be strengthened if the plan he introduced in Baltimore gained support in Rome, they said, especially if it were favored over the plan proposed by conference officials.
Many American bishops arrived in Baltimore this week expecting to approve the proposed the independent commission, along with proposed standards for episcopal conduct. Bishops were stunned to discover Monday that they could not vote on the measures, following the last-minute instruction from the Congregation for Bishops, received Sunday night by conference president Cardinal Daniel DiNardo.
An Archdiocese of Washington official suggested to CNA that the Congregation for Bishops’ last minute suspension of voting at the Baltimore meeting might have been because the conference’s independent commission proposal was not sent to Rome until Oct. 30.
DiNardo, however, told a press conference Monday that while the draft document for the independent commission had been sent to Rome at the end of October, the USCCB had been in consistent contact with Vatican officials as the texts were developed.
DiNardo said that “When we were in Rome [in October] we consulted with all of [the Vatican dicasteries]. I mean, [that’s what] we do.”
“When I met with the Holy Father in October, the Holy Father was very positive in a general way – he had not seen everything yet – of the kind of action items we were looking to do.”
Cupich spoke from the floor immediately after DiNardo’s announcement of the change Monday morning. The cardinal suggested that the bishops continue to discuss the proposed measures and take non-binding votes on them. He offered no indication at that time that he would introduce a completely different plan.
By Tuesday afternoon, the Chicago cardinal rose to question the premise of the USCCB’s proposed independent commission, asking if it was a reflection of sound ecclesiology. Cupich suggested that the commission could be seen as a way of “outsourcing” difficult situations.
Full story at Catholic News Agency.
The bishops are hopelessly corrupt.
Maybe. The Bishops are also incredibly STUPID as they now have to contend with US and state law and are now on the record as refusing to take any action on these (in many cases) criminal matters.
Metropolitans already have oversight of their suffragan bishops. The current proposal would only give metropolitans the extra authority to investigate. Sadly, many of our metropolitans are also corrupt, so the Wuerl/Cupich proposal is essentially a proposal to do little.
These two metropolitan bishops must truly think that the laity is stupid. This is the chief form of clericalism which the Pope has already identified as the culprit of the current crisis. In other words, regardless of whether conservatives or the Pope are correct about the root cause of the crisis, these men are guilty.
So those of us in the pews who pay the bills are collectively not fit to investigate Bishops accused of abuse. Instead, the proposal is that a senior member of the group investigate the accused. Same old same old. The stuff will really hit the fan if a senior Bishop gives a ‘pass’ to an accused Bishop who later turns out guilty as charged.
Since those two Cardinal Archbishops have so little credibility, especially in matters related to this critical topic, the U.S. bishops may want to consider having others draft a response. Bishops Morlino, Strickland, Scharfenberger, Daly and Cordileone come readily to mind.
Lord, have mercy on our bishops and all of us.
Really kind of sick of ad hominem criticisms of the Bishops. I can see a problem with Wuerl, but what in heavens name causes you to besmearch the name of Cupich “in this critical topic”?
How about the fact that Cupich drove a priest of his archdiocese into hiding because the priest burned a rainbow flag. How about the fact that Cupich has publicly said people in same-sex civil “marriages” won’t be barred from Communion. How about the fact that Cupich hasn’t don’t anything about two of his priests caught by police XXX-ing each other in a parked car near a playground in Florida? You need to pay more attention. Cupich is a general in the lavender mafia.
This is like Al Capone drafting a policy on fair tax enforcement, or Hugh Hefner drafting a policy on sexual harassment, or, or, Satan — the Big Guy — drafting a policy on biblical interpretation (you know, the stuff about “Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heav’n”). What compete disregard for Catholics, and for Christ’s own Church. Wuerl may well be facing legal charges in the future; Cupich seems not even Catholic in his episcopal administration; neither deserves even their positions, much less doing anything to affect Church policy. Come on, American bishops, be men, be shepherds, be Catholic.
One of the questions which is always posed in these situations is:
“Why does God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) allow this situation to exist?
We don’t know, except that in His infinite wisedom, plan and knowledge of what has happened, what will be or what could possibly be, will result in a greater good. Our limits as humans cannot comprehend His Divine Plan for the Church.
Something good will eventually come in His time, not ours.
Nice flowery platitudes. You ignore those who have been harmed already.
Remember, Wuerl and his co-conspirators triggered a nation-wide criminal investigation.
Evev if nothing is found, there won’t be anything left for the Church to build on.
Maybe, just maybe God allows all this so that the true followers of Christ and true shephards can be distinguished from the wolves in sheep’s clothing.
I would like to see Cardinal Burke conduct the investigation.
Great post, St. Christopher!
Thank you, “Linda Maria.” Your kind words are welcome.
The Catholic (Universal) Church was founded by Jesus Himself, with a teaching authority. Is this what Our Lord intended? Not likely.
The Church will survive, but without the treacherous individuals who have defiled Apostolic, Episcopal and Petrine succession.
Archbishop Cordileone should focus his efforts on leading the Diocese of San Francisco. There are so many problems in our beautiful city: homelessness, a tremendous wealth and pay gap, poverty, addiction and public health issues. Let other Bishops and the Holy Father deal with the abuse investigation issues. Archbishop Cordileone…please lead your diocese.
Oh I see Harold. The minute a bishop takes a position you don’t like, he should mind his own business, And these “other ” bishops– they don’t have the same problems in their diocese? Everything you mentioned is the proper domain of the political arm and other lay efforts. The bishop’s main responsibility is the care of souls by passing along the apostolic teaching centered in Jesus Christ. And, as has been said over and over again, the Holy Father acts like he is complicit in thwarting the proper investigation of homosexual predation. You should be grateful for Archbishop Cordileone for opposing those guilty in appearance if not in fact of obstructing justice.
Harold– do you know how many, many cases of horrific criminal clergy sex abuse have occurred, in this FILTHY, CORRUPT city?? Abp. Cordileone has a big job to do– and handling these criminal clergy sex abuse cases, is a big part of his job!
Hey Harold call your local Democrats to do that job , Archbishop Cordileone is supposed to save souls ,not save San Francisco from corrupt politicians
I have known several bishops and served on diocesan pastoral councils and other diocese-wide committees. I don’t have any personal evidence that the bishops are corrupt. But there is overwhelming evidence that they just don’t get it. From the time a person enters the seminary, they join a different world: isolated from the rest of the world, ordained into a society led by power motivated people who also have no experience in real-world living. The further up they go, the more they are isolated. The institution becomes the focus of their work. Bishops, no matter the glitter of the vestments, are CEOs of fairly large corporations, and they are unquestioned rulers of those who want to get ahead, all that is in their realm. They are out of…
Cdls. Cupich and Wuerl are two of the men whose acts of ignoring the problem in the first place caused this mess!
Great post, St. Christopher!