Venice, Fla., Aug 30, 2018 / 06:00 am (CNA).- Jim Towey, president of Ave Maria University, said Wednesday that he unhesitatingly supports Pope Francis, in the wake of Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò’s call for the pope’s resignation.
Archbishop Viganò, the emeritus apostolic nuncio to the US, alleged that Francis ignored sexual misconduct allegations against Archbishop Theodore McCarrick (who resigned from the cardinalate July 28), lifting sanctions on the former Archbishop of Washington which had been imposed by Benedict XVI.
Towey’s Aug. 29 statement “regarding the rift within the Church” characterized Archbishop Viganò’s testimony as part of a “rift between Pope Francis and some conservative members of the Church hierarchy”, the “battle lines” of which were drawn “five years ago shortly after the Pope ascended to the chair of Saint Peter.”
Towey quoted the pope’s 2018 apostolic exhortation Gaudete et exsultate, in which Pope Francis criticized “false prophets, who use religion for their own purposes, to promote their own psychological or intellectual theories. God infinitely transcends us; he is full of surprises.”
Affirming that God is full of surprises, the university president asserted that “the call for the Pope’s resignation by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò is not one of them. Neither is the challenge to the Pope’s authority by Raymond Cardinal Burke, an American prelate who has consistently opposed the direction Pope Francis has led the Church on certain matters.”
Towey also speculated that Cardinal Burke “may still be smarting” from his 2014 removal as prefect of the Apostolic Signatura.
Towey stated that the timing of the release of Archbishop Viganò’s testimony seemed to be meant “to inflict the maximum damage possible to the Pope’s credibility, and the choreographed chorus of support by others in league with them, was just as troubling.”
“Contrary to the popular narrative, most conservative Catholics are not following suit and embracing their defiance, and certainly not on our campus,” he added.
Towey said Ave Maria University is known “for our unqualified fidelity to the Church”, which he said “we do … not because we are conservative (we are) but because this is the requirement of discipleship. This explains why our students love Pope Francis and support him wholeheartedly.”
Noting that the Roman Pontiff is the successor of St. Peter, who “bears the anointing of the Holy Spirit”, Towey said that “conservative Catholics may legitimately disagree with Pope Francis’ take on everything from the environment and capitalism, to marriage and family.”
He called such “dissent” healthy “when properly channeled and respectfully communicated.”
“But when Church dissent becomes openly hostile and rebellious, and some members of the hierarchy assert their opinions as if they were elected pope instead of Francis, faithful Catholics like our students will rally to the Supreme Pontiff’s defense,” Towey asserted.
Towey added that “we forgive” Francis, who “has admitted that he failed in his own response to the clergy sex abuse scandal and its cover-up.”
He also said that Francis “wasn’t the only one to be charmed by now-disgraced Cardinal Theodore McCarrick,” saying that “Saints John Paul II and Mother Teresa of Calcutta also knew Cardinal McCarrick personally and were deceived by him, too.”
Towey said that “personal attacks against the Vicar of Christ and calls for his resignation are wildly divisive and patently wrong … at a time when the Church is roiled by scandal occasioned by so many within the hierarchy.”
“Those so-called conservative Catholics who now challenge the Holy Father’s legitimate authority and openly undermine his papacy, are betraying their own principles and hurting the Church they profess to love. They should stop now,” Towey maintained.
Among the US bishops, Archbishop Viganò’s testimony has received a mixed response.
Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago found it “astonishing,” and called for a “thorough vetting of the former nuncio’s many claims…before any assessment of their credibility can be made.”
Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark expressed “shock, sadness and consternation at the wide-ranging array of allegations…which cannot be understood as contributing to the healing of survivors of sexual abuse,” and Bishop Robert McElroy of San Diego called the former nuncio’s words a “distortion.”
By contrast, Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler said that while Archbishop Viganò’s claims have not been investigated and are “still allegations…as your shepherd I find them to be credible.”
Bishop David Konderla of Tulsa said Archbishop Viganò’s allegations “mark a good place to begin the investigations that must happen in order for us to restore holiness and accountability to the leadership of the Church.”
Bishop Thomas Olmsted of Phoenix and Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City both also called for an investigation of Vigano’s claims, and both have affirmed their respect for the former nuncio.
Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco said the former nuncio “served his mission with selfless dedication” and “at great personal sacrifice and with absolutely no consideration given to furthering his ‘career’ – all of which speaks to his integrity and sincere love of the Church.”
“Moreover, while having no privileged information about the Archbishop McCarrick situation, from information I do have about a very few of the other statements Archbishop Viganò makes, I can confirm that they are true. His statements, therefore, must be taken seriously. To dismiss them lightly would continue a culture of denial and obfuscation.”
Towey, who dismissed Archbishop Viganò’s testimony as “personal attacks against the Vicar of Christ,” has served as president of Ave Maria University since 2011.
When he was named president of the university, he told the National Catholic Register that his bishop, Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington, “twisted my arm a little bit when I was discerning to take the job.”
Archbishop Viganò wrote in his testimony that Cardinal Wuerl knew of McCarrick’s misdeeds: “I myself brought up the subject with Cardinal Wuerl on several occasions, and I certainly didn’t need to go into detail because it was immediately clear to me that he was fully aware of it.”
Ed McFadden, a spokesman for the Archdiocese of Washington, told CNA that Wuerl categorically denies having been informed that McCarrick’s ministry had been restricted by the Vatican.
The bishops on the board of trustees of Ave Maria University are Bishop Frank Dewane of Venice in Florida, Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston, and Bishop Kevin Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend.
O’Malley is mentioned by Viganò’s testimony, which said that the cardinal’s “latest statements on the McCarrick case are disconcerting, and have totally obscured his transparency and credibility.”
[…]
No Texas Bishop will welcome Bishop Strickland in public now that he has been offered up to this pontificate by them in private – especially, the carpet bagger “in charge.” Half are shills for the Democrats, especially their socialist lobbying arm in Austin. The rest have cozied up to big business RINOs who killed pro-life bills for decades when none could see save God and a few faithful friends of life. The pro-life example of Bishop Strickland was a constant irritation to them. Mt. 8:20
History has seen weak Bishops gang up to do worse than banishing Bishops Torres in Puerto Rico and Strickland in Texas. This purge shall pass. Stay Catholic.
I can’t put this any other way than to say I am ashamed of how the so-called leadership of our Catholic Church operates. Truth is that these characters ought to be ashamed of themselves. But, I’ve concluded that they’re incapable of feeling shame.
retired? a nice euphemism for forced removal
Agreed.
The retirement of a bishop is a formal process in which the bishop submits a letter to the Pope short of his seventy-fifth birthday. The Pope either accepts or rejects said bishop’s retirement. To date, no such information has been forthcoming about any such letter from Bishop Strickland. This state of Limbo is an unreasonable punishment. Obviously the Holy Father does not wish to engage in a dialogue with those who disagree with him.
Then one wonders why there is a shortage of priests. Can’t be conservative and be Catholic to the higher ups. God will prevail in the long run. Stay Catholic and don’t vote democrat,please.
The “reporter” Matt McDonald is a back-bencher, and statements in this article show his bias against Bishop Strickland. It’s poorly written too.
Let’s demand clear and professional reporting from these supposedly Catholic news sources. The diocese of Tyler, now under the direction of an “administrator” bishop, has not been helpful at all in setting the record straight. But we know that’s not what they want to do. How do we know that? Because they did not inform Bishop Strickland of more than one action taken against him. And this goes back to the Vatican and whoever is actually making these decisions. It could be Bergoglio, but we don’t know for sure. It could be one or more of his henchmen “advisors”.
Kinda a “get off of my ranch” moment…they are playing butch, ironically. Even dark tragedies have their lighter nanosecond.
You can’t make it up.
And this, not any liturgical or doctrinal dispute, is by far the number one reason why our Eastern Orthodox brethren will never consider reunion with the Catholic Church under its current policies. For all the empty talk of synodality and subsidiarity, the bishop of Rome arbitrarily and summarily simply removes his brother bishops from their posts, whi have plainly committed no canonical crimes, not only without any due process at all, but without even any reason given for the removal.
Does Bishop Strickland have an address where we can send money to support him?
Surely there’s a providential and tutorial connection between the 8th-century St. Boniface and the 21st-century Bishop Strickland.
Boniface was sent forth as the missionary bishop to Germania—as a bishop without a diocese (!). Post haste, he chopped down the pagan’s sacred Donar’s Oak, and in this way converted the mystified tribes toward steadfast Christianity. But, too bad, though, about all those acorns remaining on the ground. Later coming to fruition, as the 15th-century Reformation and now as a boring 21st-century apostasy. Cardinal Marx and Bishop Batzing—the acorn doesn’t fall far from the tree.
Waiting, here, to see what cometh forth from Bishop Strickland, likewise without a diocese, and hopefully without painting another Twitter-target on his own back.
Underlining the historical parallel, Boniface’s famous oak tree is said to have been near Hesse, which recalls Luther’s endorsement of the elector Rudolph of Hesse’s bigamy (also the bigamy of Henry VIII). Not to be outdone, and in addition to more bigamy, pagan Germania now also presumes to bless the “marriage” of homosexuals, something that even the voracious Henry VIII could not even imagine.