Pope Francis and McCarrick

So, the pope has accepted the resignation of Cardinal McCarrick ... No question, Pope Francis made history Saturday on McCarrick. What's depressing is that this is considered a big deal. If the church was instead any other organization in the west, an employee with multiple credible accusations against them of child abuse and sexual abuse of young adults working under them would have been suspended/terminated and the person would likely be investigated by the law.

But instead, this is notable because it's the first time a cardinal accused of such acts has ever stepped down. One recent example is Cardinal Keith O'Brien. Though he was credibly accused of sexually harassing a number of priests who worked for him (which he admitted doing) ... Vatican accused of cover up over Cardinal Keith O'Brien's 'sexual conduct' ... Pope Francis allowed him to remain a cardinal, and the church bought O'Brien a home in Northumberland in which to live.

And then there's Cardinal Pell, the third most important prelate at the Vatican after the pope, who's now on trial in his native Australia for sex abuse and rape .... 2 Trials Set For Cardinal Pell On Sex Abuse Charges. The pope hasn't asked him to resign and so far is supportive of him.

Meanwhile, there are and have been numerous cardinals who are known to have covered up sex abuse but who have never even heard a harsh word from Pope Francis, mush less been asked to resign. There include the notorious Cardinal Law of Boston (now dead), Irish Cardinal Sean Brady, American Cardinal Roger Mahony, Chilean Cardinal Riccardo Ezzati, and others.

When people think about the Catholic church and Pope Francis, they have to stop putting them in some special class when it comes to the handling of sex abuse .... what the pope and the church get away with on this issue would never be tolerated in any other organization.