Vatican City State: The Sanctuary City for Criminal Clerics

How many sexual predators rest safely
under the Pope Francis sanctuary umbrella?

You remember when Cardinal Law fled the states as things got hotter over the sex abuse scandal. He ended up as pastor of a Church in Rome where he died in 2017. The Vatican welcomes many scandal-ridden clerics, so much so that William Kilpatrick wrote this recently:

Thanks to Pope Francis, the Vatican now joins the growing list of the world’s sanctuary cities. If you’re a clergyman wanted by civil authorities or Church authorities in your native land, the Vatican will offer you a safe haven and, quite possibly, a cushy job. (See Corruption in the Church)

Some of those under the Francis umbrella of safety are serial sex predators. But not to worry. We know that Francis really, Really, REALLY cares about the victims of sex abuse.


Kilpatrick doesn't just identify the baddies in his article; he offers some hope in the last few paragraphs. We all certainly need that:

There is considerable worry among orthodox Catholics that when the next conclave gathers to elect the next pope, the College of Cardinals will be so tightly packed with Francis appointees that Pope Francis II will be indistinguishable from Francis I. But it may not turn out that way. Like Cardinal Robert Sarah of Guinea, many (though certainly not all) of the Third World cardinals are as committed to the Gospel of Christ as their European counterparts are committed to the gospel of what’s happening now. Now that they can more clearly see the destruction Francis has wrought, they are unlikely to vote for his twin.

So too, it’s likely that a goodly number of Western cardinals who thought in 2013 that Jorge Bergoglio would lead the Church in refreshing new directions can now see that he has led it to the brink of a precipice. They may be silent now out of fear or simply because they are at a loss to know what to do, but in a secret ballot they will be free to vote their conscience rather than the party line. 

There are bad cardinals, and good cardinals, and in-between cardinals. And one must suppose that even the bad cardinals have consciences. One must further suppose that as layer upon layer of corruption is uncovered in the Francis Church, their consciences will begin to bother them. None of them are getting any younger, and those of them who still believe know that they will have to answer for their vote before God. 

On the surface, the future of the Church looks bleak, but it may be that the excesses of the Francis papacy will generate their own antidote. There is a good chance that next time around, the voting cardinals will be paying more attention to the promptings of the Holy Spirit than to the spirit of the times.

Pray for Pope Francis and the magisterium. Christ gave us a Church to help us know the truth and reach heaven one day. When bishops decide to be potholes and roadblocks on the path to God instead of signs and guides, they risk eternal damnation. We need to pray and sacrifice for them. Archbishop Vigano has his own tainted past. That he is now speaking the truth shows that consciences can be touched. Pray that all the bishops will grow in love for the true, the good, and the beautiful and use that love to lead others into the arms of Christ stretched wide upon the cross.