In the latest development of an incident I commented on here a while back, here and here, Reuters News Service is reporting that the pope met with Cardinal Schönborn about his criticism of Cardinal Sodano and the Vatican issued a statement saying,
“Regarding accusations against a cardinal, we remind everyone that, in the Church, only the pope has the authority to accuse a cardinal,” said the statement, a rare case of the Church making its internal bickering public.
The full report can be read here.
I find it striking that a pope will publicly rebuke a cardinal for rebuking a cardinal. Where, exactly, do we find this imperative in the Gospels? Maybe we find it in Canon Law? Anyone have a clue on this or is this a case of a pope simply throwing his weight around against a cardinal who clearly is trying to remove some of the toxin in the Church over the mishandling of sexual abuse cases?
ADDENDUM: Good article from the NY Times, “Church Office Failed to Act on Abuse Scandal.”