Six cardinals accused of covering up sex abuse in Catholic Church
By Nick Squires, The Telegraph, March 27, 2025
Pope Francis made his first public appearance in five weeks when he blessed the faithful from his hospital balcony before his discharge on Sunday (Ettore Ferrari/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)
Six senior cardinals, including two considered strong contenders to be future popes, have been accused by campaigners of covering up sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.
A bombshell dossier of complaints compiled by groups representing survivors of clerical sex abuse has been handed to the Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state and number two to Pope Francis.
The allegations were made public on Thursday as it emerged that the 88-year-old Pope, who was discharged from hospital on Sunday after five weeks of treatment for double pneumonia and other infections, is still having difficulty talking.
The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), along with a survivors’ organisation called Nate’s Mission, allege the six cardinals either enabled or concealed sexual abuse committed by Catholic clergy, and called for the Holy See to immediately launch an investigation.
The Vatican did not respond to a request for comment, nor has it publicly addressed the allegations.
Cardinal Peter Erdo, of Hungary, and Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, of the Philippines, below, are both considered to be strong contenders for the papacy in the future - Attila Kisbenedek/AFP via Getty Images
Cardinal Tagle led a rosary prayer for the health of Pope Francis last month in the Vatican while the pontiff was being treated in hospital - Filippo Monteforte/AFP via Getty Images
The accused cardinals were named as Peter Erdo, from Hungary, Kevin Farrell, from Ireland, Victor Manuel Fernandez, from Argentina, Mario Grech, from Malta, Robert Francis Prevost, from the US, and Luis Antonio Tagle, from the Philippines.
Cardinals Tagle and Erdo are considered to be particularly strong contenders to succeed Pope Francis.
Cardinal Tagle, 67, has been dubbed “the Asian Francis” for his good humour and progressive views. Cardinal Erdo, the Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest, is, in contrast, regarded as a conservative.
“While sympathy for Pope Francis in his declining health is understandable, we cannot ignore the tragic reality: the cardinals he has empowered include men who have covered up abuse,” said Peter Isely, of SNAP. “Now some of these same men are being considered as candidates for the next pope.”
The compiling of the dossier of alleged cover-ups and mismanagement “marks the first time multiple high-ranking cardinals have been targeted …by coordinated, survivor-led action,” the campaigners said.
They acknowledge that Pope Francis has been through the longest hospitalisation of his 12-year papacy and that his health is fragile.
But they appealed to him to use the time he has left as pontiff to implement a zero-tolerance law for Catholic clergy who abuse children and minors.
Cardinal Mario Grech, from Malta, and Ireland’s Cardinal Kevin Farrell, below, are among the cardinals accused of a cover-up by sex abuse campaigners - Christopher Furlong/Getty Images
Cardinal Kevin Farrell
Under that law, the Church would be obliged to remove known offender priests from their ministries and hold bishops accountable if they are found to have covered up sexual crimes.
“Survivors have done the work that church leaders refuse to do,” said Shaun Dougherty, the president of SNAP, which says it has more than 25,000 survivors and supporters in its network.
“We’ve compiled the evidence, followed the Vatican’s procedures, and named the names. If Pope Francis is serious about his ‘zero tolerance’ approach, he would appoint a truly independent investigator and open the abuse archives to that person – as he said he would in 2019.”
Groups vet potential popes
Earlier this week, the campaign groups launched an initiative called Conclave Watch, a database which is aimed at thoroughly vetting potential papal candidates – known in Italian as “papabile”, literally “pope-able”.
They hope the dossier will highlight the issue of clerical sex abuse before the next conclave – the secret election in which cardinals gather in the Sistine Chapel to choose the next pope.
“If the next pope is serious about ending clergy abuse, we must ensure he hasn’t covered it up, and that he endorses a binding and universal zero-tolerance law,” said Mr Isely.
Pointing out that the only part of the Catholic world that has adopted a zero-tolerance approach is the US, he added: “The United States is just 6 per cent of the Catholic world. So 94 per cent doesn’t have that.”
Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, from the US, and Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez, from Argentina, below, have also been named by campaigners as having covered up clerical sex abuse - Alessandro di Meo/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez
Doctors have told the Pope that he needs to rest for at least the next two months, throwing doubt on whether he can participate in any Easter events.
“In this moment, he certainly has difficulty speaking, but I am sure he will deliver messages even through his silence,” Gianfranco Ravasi, an Italian cardinal, told the newspaper Il Messaggero.
The Vatican on Thursday released its calendar of liturgical celebrations for Easter Holy Week.
For the moment, the Pope is not on the agenda.
Whether or not he will be able to participate depends on his health, the Holy See press office said.
A spokesman added: “It will be necessary to see improvements in the Pope’s health condition over the coming weeks to evaluate his potential presence, and on which terms, at Holy Week celebrations.”