VATICAN CITY, 14 February 2019 (OnePeterFive.com)—As rumors of the imminent laicization of disgraced former Cardinal and accused pederast predator Theodore McCarrick continue to spread, Pope Francis has announced the appointment of McCarrick protégé Cardinal Kevin Farrell as papal Camerlengo—a position of administrative authority over the Holy See, once a pope has died (or, if following the example of Pope Benedict XVI, resigns).

This appointment may, at first, appear administrative—but Michael Hichborn of Catholic watchdog organization the Lepanto Institute believes that the announcement sends a clear and troubling message to those following the Vatican’s actions in the leadup to next week’s “summit” on the sex abuse crisis in the Catholic Church.

“It is absolutely staggering that Pope Francis would appoint a man like Cardinal Farrell to manage the administration of the Holy See in the interim between the pope’s death and the next conclave,” Hichborn said. “Cardinal Farrell made the incredible claim that he was ‘shocked’ by accusations against Cardinal McCarrick, with whom he had lived for six years. Worse still is that Cdl. Farrell seems to have lied about his connection with notorious homosexual abuser, Fr. Marcial Maciel, founder of the Legionaries of Christ. Someone this close to the homosexual cabal that is rumored to have been the cause of Pope Benedict’s resignation doesn’t belong anywhere near the position of Camerlengo, let alone even in the Curia.”

The video of Cardinal Farrell denying knowledge of McCarrick’s illicit activities can be seen here:

This has not been the first time that Cardinal Farrell has been in the news since last year’s revelations of McCarrick’s abuse. In September, an article by Italian journalist Francesca Fagnani made explosive revelations that the infamous 300-page “Red Dossier” had been seen, with specific names of high ranking prelates engaged or embroiled in homosexual deviancy. Fagnani’s report specifically identified Cardinal Farrell as being one such prelate listed. In a followup report, Fagnani claimed that “If the public became aware of the content of the report, it would be a disaster for the image of the Church, already devastated throughout the world by sexual scandals.”

Additionally, the Farrell has been a leading voice in support of the “reforms” suggested by Pope Francis’ Amoris Laetitia—reforms that were countered by the now famous dubia, and never formally addressed by the Holy See. Cardinal Farrell has been an instrumental figure at high-visibility events this past year, such as the World Meeting of Families in Ireland—where he directly participated with the undercurrents of normalizing homosexual agendas of rhetoric and lifestyles; the “Synod of the Youth” (where the push for “synodality” was a key topic, yet not addressed by the youth); and just recently, at the “World Youth Day” in Panama.

Cupich Also Set to Take Leadership Role Despite Troubling Record

Meanwhile, as news of Farrell’s appointment spreads, another close associate of Theodore McCarrick—Cardinal Blase Cupich– is set to lead the summit on sex abuse—despite revelations that his own see had withheld the names of nearly 500 priests credibly accused of sex abuse from the Attorney General of Illinois. Although it appears that the cases of abuse pre-date Cupich’s tenure as Archbishop, Cupich took center stage as the sole supporter of the pope’s decision to stop the US Bishops from voting on measures to deal with clerical abuse at their meeting last October in Baltimore. Earlier that year, Cupich dismissed Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano’s testimony about clerical abuse coverup in the Church as a “rabbit hole” and said that the pope had a “bigger agenda” to worry about — including things like “the environment and protecting migrants”. His handling of a priest-victim of clerical abuse, Fr. Paul Kalchik, whose parish burned a rainbow flag found in their church, was widely condemned, and a 2015 book raises questions about Cupich’s role in an alleged homosexual subculture at the Josephinum during the years when he served as rector. A Catholic News Agency report last December also indicates that seven Jesuit priests “credibly accused of sexual abuse were unsupervised on the campus of Gonzaga University” — a fact Cupich was informed of during his tenure as Bishop of Spokane, but that was not made known to his successor, Bishop Thomas Daly. The Diocese has said that it was “unacceptable” that these men, who were required to have “chaperones for any trips out of Cardinal Bea House” and were restricted from public ministry, were “free to come and go on campus”.

With Pope Francis seeking to “deflate expectations” of resolutions from this summit, Catholics—such as Deacon Nick Donnelly, a well-known figure on Catholic social media–are justifiably upset by the move to promote yet another Cardinal embroiled in scandal. As scripture would have it, “By their fruits you shall know them”. (Mt 7:16-20)

Even if they laicize him, the legacy of McCarrick lives on through these three — Tobin, Farrell, Cupich The fact that they are favourites of Francis reveals all lot about him doesn’t it pic.twitter.com/dbdfZO8Heq — Nick Donnelly (@ProtecttheFaith) February 14, 2019

Steve Skojec contributed to this report.