Why has Cardinal Wuerl (retired) been given $2m by the Washington Archdiocese?

Mar 5, 2021 by

by Archbishop Cranmer:

“In 2020, the Archdiocese of Washington allocate more than $2 million for the ‘continued ministry’ of retired Cardinal Donald Wuerl. For comparison, the archdiocese earmarked $400k for charitable giving”, tweeted canon lawyer Ed Condon, who also brought us the story in The Pillar.

“When it was audited, ADW [Archdiocese of Washington] said it took some of its money each year and put it an envelope for +Wuerl — adding up to $2m by 6/30/20”, noted The Pillar‘s Editor-in-Chief JD Flynn. “Today, the ADW said *actually* donors gave the money explicitly and only for +Wuerl. Those are not the same”, he observed.

“This is simply scandalous. They don’t get it, do they?” tweeted Fr Alexander Lucie-Smith, releasing a thread of condemnation, ranging from the Archdiocese (or is it cardinals?) being servants of Satan to the entire Roman Catholic Church being “just a giant protection racket“. It fell to the reasoned voice of Caroline Farrow to make the most reasonable observation: “It’s also in start contrast to retired priests from some U.K. dioceses who are told to apply for council houses and are literally living off help from friends.”

“It’s so blatantly outrageous that it’s hard to believe…. which is perhaps how these things work”, tweeted Fr David Palmer, former Anglican now priest in the Ordinariate. “Looking forward to my ‘Continuing ministry’ retirement fund when the time comes”, he added, squirting an imprecatory jet of lemon juice into Cardinal Wuerl’s left eye.

“Cardinal Wuerl trousers $2 million, while lots of hardworking priests especially in Africa, Asia and Latin America, live very frugally. You could not make this up. And then they are surprised we are angry”, Fr Alexander Lucie-Smith reiterated, unleashing another thread of damnation: “This is all happening because Card. Wilton was once mistaken for a golf caddy at a posh resort… Of course, we can’t ask what the Cardinal was doing at a posh golf resort in the first place. More ‘continuing ministry’ Catholic-style no doubt…”; “I’m not sure the people who make these decisions are surprised that we are angry – I don’t think they care”; “But it’s not a massive, massive scandal…”; “Bastardi!”.

It is a little hard to understand why a retired cardinal should be allocated $2m for “continuing ministry” – unless, of course, he is giving it all away to feed the poor, heal the sick and house the homeless. $2m is an awful lot of money for one man when millions of the faithful are weeping in despair, and thousands are lying in their Covid cardboard coffins awaiting the Last Trumpet. It does seem a little insensitive, doesn’t it? By not practising his righteousness (if that’s what he’s doing) with trumpets and drums, the stench of hypocrisy may be nosed throughout Christendom. Is it possible that he is doing such good things that his left hand doesn’t know what the right is doing? Could he be channelling $2m to charity in secret, so that his Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward him?

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