The Roman Catholic Church is being shaken to its core by yet another round of sexual misconduct allegations. At issue is who knew what and when they knew it.
These are the major players:
POPE FRANCIS
Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Argentina, 81-year-old Pope Francis has headed the Roman Catholic Church since 2013. Francis鈥� tenure as pontiff has ushered in a new era of liberalism in the Church -- including preaching tolerance of members of the LGBTQ community -- though his papacy has also been dogged by accusations of sexual misconduct levied against numerous prominent clergy members, such as ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, as well as Church-backed cover-ups.
THEODORE MCCARRICK
A former cardinal, McCarrick served as the Archbishop of Washington from 2001 to 2006, when he turned 75. Pope Francis accepted the U.S.-born, 88-year-old鈥檚 resignation on July 28, effectively stripping him of his cardinal鈥檚 title, following the surfacing of decades-old sexual misconduct allegations that involved the abuse of boys, including one as young as 11, and wrongdoing with adult male seminarians. McCarrick has also been linked to at least two financial settlements, including one in 2005 and another in 2007, after priests accused him of sexual abuse. According to the Vatican, Francis ordered McCarrick to a 鈥渓ife of prayer and penance鈥� in July prior to the commencement of a Church trial.
ARCHBISHOP CARLO MARIA VIGANO
Vigano, who served as the Vatican鈥檚 ambassador to the U.S. between 2011 and 2016, released an 11-page letter on Aug. 25 in which he claimed that the current pontiff has known about sexual misconduct allegations against McCarrick since 2013. Vigano has also accused Francis of rehabilitating McCarrick despite sanctions -- such as prohibitions on travel and speaking publicly -- dating back to 2009 or 2010 that were reportedly imposed by Pope Benedict XVI after reports of the alleged misconduct reached the Vatican. Francis has declined to comment on Vigano鈥檚 accusations. Vigano, an Italian-born 77-year-old, is a staunch conservative with hardline anti-LGBTQ views and has urged Francis to resign over the scandal. Vigano himself has previously been accused of trying to quash a church investigation into a former archbishop鈥檚 alleged sexual misconduct with adult seminarians -- something that Vigano has denied.
CARDINAL DONALD WUERL
A Cardinal and the Archbishop of Washington since McCarrick鈥檚 2006 resignation, 77-year-old U.S.-born Wuerl issued a statement on Aug. 27 in which he claimed to never have been informed about the sanctions levied against his predecessor for alleged sexual misconduct, thus undercutting Vigano鈥檚 claims. Since McCarrick lived in Wuerl鈥檚 archdiocese, the latter would have presumably known about such sanctions. Wuerl, however, has also been accused of helping to protect abusive priests when he served as Pittsburgh鈥檚 bishop between 1988 and 2006. He has denied these allegations.
