PITTSBURGH — The Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, a group representing survivors of Catholic priest sexual abuse, is blasting Cardinal Donald Wuerl.
He asked for "understanding" this weekend after a Washington Post report exposed that he lied about knowing about abuse while he was Pittsburgh's bishop.
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According to the Catholic News Agency, Wuerl wrote a letter to priests in Washington, D.C., this weekend, saying that he approrpriately handled sexual misconduct allegations against Archbishop Theodore McCarrick in 2004, while both men served in the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh.
Wuerl previously denied knowing of the allegations against McCarrick, but now said he was only referring to abuse involving minors.
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In the letter, Wuerl said the allegation came from a former priest and was referring to conduct involving another adult. Wuerl said the report was immediately turned over to the papal representative to the United States.
SNAP released a statement about the weekend letter:
"We understand that Cardinal Wuerl reported those allegations to officials in the Vatican but said nothing to local police or prosecutors. We understand that Cardinal Wuerl continues to pretend he had no role in covering-up McCarrick's abuse."
The file appearing to contradict Cardinal Wuerl's timetable of events was actually being housed in the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh, but it remains unclear who knew about it.