More on the Pope's silence

I'm guessing the pope and the Vatican are hoping the allegations made against him by Viganò will just fade away, but that hasn't been the case.

Here's a bit from an article by The Atlantic's Emma Green ...

The Sex-Abuse Scandal Has Come for Pope Francis

Francis has caught significant criticism not only from conservative clergy like Viganò, but also from progressives in the Church, who say that he has not taken steps to address the lingering wounds of sex abuse. Some of his loudest critics have been sex-abuse victims, who have been hurt by the pope’s past dismissals of clergy abuse. Although steps have been taken in some countries over the last two decades to educate clergy and put safety procedures in place, those have been implemented unevenly, and the past several weeks have made it evident that the legacy of abuse remains raw.

Ultimately, then, this is what matters: The latest sexual-abuse revelations threaten to undermine the pope’s credibility among everyday believers who feel betrayed by their Church. The sexual-abuse crisis is now center stage in Francis’s papacy. What he chooses to do—and not do—about the crisis next may have long-term repercussions for his reputation.

And here's a bit from an article by Damian Thompson in The Spectator ...

What has Pope Francis covered up?

[...] Here, then, is my attempt at a brief overview of the two main issues.

First, there’s the collapse of the moral authority of the US bishops. They let a sexual abuser [McCarrick ] write their guidelines on dealing with sexual abuse — at a time when, we now learn, he had already faced scandalous and serious accusations .....

Second, there are Viganò’s allegations against Francis. His testimony has its contradictions and hyperbole — but when, on his flight back from Ireland, the Pope was given the chance to deny that Viganò told him about McCarrick, he refused to comment. As a result, Catholics don’t know whether the Vicar of Christ willingly revived the career of a sexual predator, thus putting idealistic seminarians at risk. Perhaps they should be reminded that Francis invited the disgraced Cardinal Danneels of Belgium to his synod on the family. In 2010, Danneels was recorded telling a young man to shut up about being abused by a bishop who was also the young man’s uncle. Three years later, Danneels was also one of the cardinals who lobbied to make Jorge Bergoglio pope. [BBC - Belgian Cardinal Danneels condoned sex-abuse silence] .....

Meanwhile: New York, New Jersey Investigating Sex Abuse And Cover-Ups By Clergy