Cardinal Donald Wuerl, criticized by a Pennsylvania grand jury of shielding priests who were abusing children during his 18 years as Pittsburgh’s bishop, will not give a scheduled keynote address at the World Meeting of Families in Ireland.
The Irish Times reported Saturday that Cardinal Wuerl, who was bishop of Pittsburgh from 1988 to 2006, had withdrawn from the conference without giving a reason.
Cardinal Wuerl, the archbishop of Washington, D.C., was to give a talk titled “The Welfare of the Family is Decisive for the Future of the World,” in Dublin on Wednesday.
“I can confirm that Cardinal Wuerl will not be attending the World Meeting of Families. We are declining further comment at this time,” Chieko Noguchi, director of media relations for the Archdiocese of Washington said in an emailed statement.
In a detailed, lengthy report, the grand jury faulted Cardinal Wuerl for allowing accused priests to continue in ministry.
Some Catholics have called for Cardinal Wuerl’s resignation. Earlier this week, a petition began circulating online to remove his name from Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic High School in Cranberry. As of Saturday, more than 5,700 people had signed it and the goal was to gather 7,500 signatures.
Questions also have been raised about whether Cardinal Wuerl knew about the sexual misconduct allegations against Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, his predecessor as archbishop of Washington.
In June, a church panel substantiated claims that Cardinal McCarrick, while serving as a priest in New York 47 years ago, sexually abused an altar boy. Last month, Pope Francis accepted Cardinal McCarrick’s resignation, suspended him from public ministry and ordered him into seclusion. Cardinal McCarrick remains a priest pending the outcome of a Vatican trial.
Marylynne Pitz at mpitz@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1648 or on Twitter: @mpitzpg
First Published: August 18, 2018, 7:02 p.m.
