I have had a feeling for some time that Bergoglio never actually laicized Theodore McCarrick.
I first got that sense when the late George Neumayr tweeted his own suspicions in December of 2022.
A source close to McCarrick tells me that he still talks to his "nephews," such as Cupich, and the pope. He arranged for his protege Knestout to be chairman of the US bishops' "abuse" committee so that Knestout could run interference for him during his criminal trial next year. https://t.co/zXwKqweWFR
Everything in my gut tells me that the aging sodo-freak evil McCarrick is still a member of the clerical state. I have asked repeatedly over the past few years, “Why is a laicized man enjoying the benefits of Church property and patronage?” I refer to his living arrangements of late in religious order-run places like the Kansas friary. Draw your own conclusions.
And now Archbishop Vigano seems to be echoing the same sentiments.
One of the most powerful men in the Catholic Church in America, a leading exponent of the deep church that has infiltrated into the Holy See; one who, even after scandals and allegations of sexual abuse, was commissioned by Bergoglio to lead political negotiations with the… pic.twitter.com/drXZ7JGBWF
— Arcivescovo Carlo Maria Viganò (@CarloMVigano) August 31, 2023
“It doesn’t even matter to Bergoglio, who proceeded to condemn McCarrick through administrative channels (without ever publishing the document of his dismissal from the clerical state) in order to protect his accomplices…”
Time will tell. I surely do wish someone of George’s tenacity were here to dig into the details and find the truth.
The headline on Canon212 tonight raises many questions. Take a look here. Apparently, Teddy is not only still living on Church property, but he’s doing so at the Redemptorist Mater Seminary in suburban DC – his old stomping grounds. Boy, the diabolical narcissism is strong with this one. They just love putting it right in your face, don’t they?
First, this seminary, if I’m not mistaken, is similar to the RM seminary in the Newark Archdiocese. It is a house of formation (malformation?) for members of the Neocatechumenal Way. Remember them? They were a favorite of Ted when he was serving as ordinary in both the Newark and Washington Sees. They were a favorite because they boosted his numbers and allowed him to claim that he ordained more men than any other bishop in the country each year. He forgot to mention that these foreign born seminarians were all released from service to the ordaining diocese after three years. He also forgot to mention that the whole thing was part of his intricate “pipeline”. Not sure what I mean? Look it up. I’ll wait. Back in the day, Gary and company in Ferndale actually did some decent reporting on this stuff.
Jesus Dies upon the Cross, Front Royal, VA
Second, they seriously stuck him right back in a seminary of all places?! I’ve got a better idea. Let’s take an inveterate drink on a field trip to the local tavern!
Third, I’ve raised the question before but here it is again. When a man is laicized and “returned to the lay state”, how does that man still have access to living arrangements furnished by the institutional Church? Why are they/we housing this bastard at all?
Final note… George Neumayr hinted before his untimely death that it was possible McCarrick has not been laicized after all. Now that George is gone, isn’t it odd that they put McCarrick in residence right in George’s old neck of the woods? It’s almost screaming, “There’s nothing you can do about it…”
All of this and we still haven’t begun to discuss the ritualistic nature of the alleged abuse in the Wisconsin case and the fact that the other man mentioned was almost certainly Joseph Bernardin.
I came across an interesting read today via Canon212. It’s a story in the National Catholic Register about Teddy McCarrick’s ongoing legal woes. I learned a few things and I was also left with a few more questions.
The most important thing learned from this article is the fact that it appears the heretofore unnamed victim in the case in Massachusetts is none other than James Grein. Grein, you may recall, is the man who’s testimony before a Vatican inquest ultimately led to McCarrick’s “dismissal from the clerical state”. I put that in quotes because I am more and more convinced it never actually happened. Given what we know about Bergoglio’s penchant for reinstating excommunicated priests and bishops on the sly, my money is that Teddy was never returned to the lay state. And it is interesting to me that it was Grein all the time. This case in Massachusetts was presented from the beginning as a completely distinct abuse case. I still believe Grein. Hell, the Vatican believed him too, right? And I am not here to argue the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. I simply note that this is an interesting development. Grein is a treasure trove of inside information and I think more of what he has alleged over the past four years should be investigated.
The principal question raised in my mind today is one I’ve been pounding at for a while. Why on earth is McCarrick still living at the largesse of the Catholic Church? If he was dismissed, let him find his own lodging. We know he had money at one time. Again I will ask, when I hit my late 80’s or early 90’s can I simply go to a monastery and ask to be let in and taken care of? Will they do it? I’m half tempted to drive to Missouri and ask if I can just stay a few months, see what they say. After all, I am a layman just like (supposedly) he is. It does not add up. It never has.
The last man who brought up the subject – George Neumayr – is dead, they tell us. I don’t want to sound conspiratorial but if the past three years of coronascam have taught us nothing, it is that conspiracy theorists are really just soothsayers in disguise. I never heard of a funeral for the man.* We never got answers that made any sense. Whatever happened, we may never know. But one thing is sure. George was on this story and we need something with that spirit to continue to investigate these things. If I ever decide to knock on the door of that friary in the Show Me State, I’ll be sure to record the whole thing as I channel George and try to get answers. Until then, let us all, as Frank Walker says, “Pray for the Church.”
Queen of heaven, pray for us!
UPDATE: A reader forwarded an obituary for Neumayr. A funeral Mass is being said for him this very day (March 7) in Alexandria, VA.
I have been praying a lot lately using the book Deliverance Prayers for the Laity by Fr. Chad Ripperger. If you do not have a copy of this book, I highly recommend getting one – especially if you are a man with a wife and children. If you are unsure how to use it, there is a video posted by Sensus Fidelium wherein Steve Cunningham interviews Fr. Ripperger on this exact topic.
One of the themes that comes across very plainly to me is a theme that ought to be obvious and yet, thanks to the general collapse in the Church and in Western culture since the mid-20th century is simply not clear. That theme is this. Our Lord, the author of life, has endowed us men with the gift of common sense. In fact, in several of the deliverance prayers the specific request is made of Our Lord that He pour out his Precious Blood to “strengthen our common sense power”. My own take on this overlooking of common sense is that such an emphasis has been placed on the great good that is human reason, that the focus has fallen on our cogitative power in a way that completely ignores the common sense of each human being.
And what is this common sense exactly? In my own words, it is the grasping of truth through what the senses and our experience and reason can plainly know. In other words, it is the idea that what is right in front of one’s eyes might in fact be the reality of a given situation. So for instance, when the media report to us that the cost of eggs has either not risen that much or has only risen because of an avian flu that struck last year; the average man or woman (especially those who purchase eggs for their family regularly) are inclined to say, “That doesn’t sound right to me… I think I would have remembered hearing about a chicken cull due to illness.” When they tell you, “Elections are safe and never subject to corruption and Brandon is supreme overlord,” most of us would say, “Hmm… Nope.”
On that second point in particular I want to point out that it isn’t just a gut feeling. I grew up in New Jersey. I saw electoral corruption firsthand. I saw in the voter rolls on election day that several of my dead siblings were still eligible to vote. Couple that with the fact that we all know from firsthand experience that machines connected to the internet are absolutely subject to being manipulated. It doesn’t take a conspiracy theorist to know that things are not right.
But part of the problem (or maybe a symptom of?) the general loss of common sense – which itself is symptomatic of sin – is the lack of intellectual curiosity. People simply do not want to ask questions anymore. And I’m not just talking about deep, probing questions that only a well-versed expert in a certain field would think to ask. I was a reality TV producer. Believe me, the things people never ask about the content of what they watch on the idiot box is striking to me. I saw how the sausage is made. Most folks simply eat the sausage and are happy. We ought to be asking the how’s and why’s of this thing in front of us.
All of this got me to thinking about some questions that should be asked and it also reminded me of the late George Neumayr. First, do we accept his death as being caused by Malaria? I don’t know about you, but I do not accept this without any definitive proof which so far has not been provided. So many questions here… And I hope we get answers.
But think about George himself for a minute. The handful of times I interacted with him, I knew he was a man with incredible common sense. I feel that way about Ann Barnhardt as well. She has said, “I just ask the questions and say the things everyone else is thinking.” Yes, but sadly not everyone is thinking these things – their minds have been so dulled by the hammer of mortal sin and a degenerate society.
Drink a glass of wine…
When George heard about Cardinal Tobin and the whole “Baby” situation, what did he do? Well, ultimately he went to Baltimore to the Bishop’s conference meeting, found Tobin in the lobby of the hotel, and straight up asked him the question. Is this man (Baby) living with you or not? My goodness, to everyone’s surprise, Tobin answered in the affirmative! He had a sense of what was what and he investigated.
This has lead me to ponder some other questions. These are questions I imagine George might have asked. Who knows, he may have been following up on these questions as recently as a few weeks ago while traveling through the Ivory Coast. They pertain to McCarrick and they are things I have wondered and for which I have never gotten satisfactory answers. In no particular order:
Was McCarrick actually laicized? George hinted in a December tweet that he was not sure of this fact. Where are the documents? They may exist but I cannot simply trust what has been put forth by most of the men running the show these days.
Why is McCarrick still living in Church property? It seems that Teddy is currently somewhere in Missouri or nearby environs residing with a religious order or in a Church run half-way house of sorts. But, you ask, he’s a “private citizen” at this point. So does the Church extend these kinds of living arrangements to other lay folk? Can I simply live out my final years in a monastery at no charge? What gives? If he’s not in the clerical state, why is he still treated as a cleric? There may be a perfectly acceptable answer to this but I’d love hear it before passing judgment.
What happened to McCarrick’s fortune? The Vatican accepted the testimony of James Grein to “laicize” McCarrick. Why not accept all of what Grein has to say, including the fact that McCarrick was conjuring demons through an exorcist and was a personal inheritor to a few mega-wealthy friends like Conrad Hilton? Where’s the cash?
Why are men known to have been favorites of McCarrick (“nephews”) still being selected for high ecclesial posts? See McElroy.
And for good measure let me add a few that I am personally aware of that have never passed the smell test.
Turks and Caicos. It’s a small British protectorate in the Caribbean. In the late 1990’s McCarrick, on behalf of the Archdiocese of Newark, assumed juridical control of the Catholic Church there. It is known to be a tax shelter. It is also known to be a place where at least one Newark priest was sent who may have had some “issues” and who may have avoided prosecution by being out of the States. Was McCarrick hiding money here? It may be nothing but it deserves a look.
What’s the Ivory Coast connection? I am so dumbfounded as to why George was there. But again, something just doesn’t seem right in light of what we have known about him.
Well, friends, will we ever find answers? George isn’t around to ask the questions anymore. God rest his soul. Who will pick up this mantle? And even if another gumshoe like him emerges (and I hope many do), should we ourselves stop asking the questions at least in our minds? No, friends, no.
It’s called common sense. We all have it. Strengthen yourself in prayers, Mass, and the sacraments. Then use it.
St. Timothy who’s feast is today, pray for us!
*St. Timothy was known to have a weak stomach and appeared to suffer from nervousness. St. Paul gave him encouragement. We also should pray for courage. Timothy died the glorious death of a martyr. We may not be far from his path.
I awoke this morning to the horrible news of the death of George Neumayr. George was someone I consider a hero and for whom I had great admiration. We can talk another time about the unusual circumstances of the past day. For the record, I do fear that something nefarious was at play. For now, though, all of that is neither here nor there. I pray for the repose of George’s soul and the consolation of his family. Allow me to share a personal story that encapsulates why this man will be missed.
In the summer of 2019 I had some information that I wanted to share with George. I did not know him personally but I had been following his work for some time. The man seemed to be the only investigative journalist actually doing his job and his work on helping to expose McCarrick was of particular interest to me. So I took a chance. I sent him a friend request on Facebook. To my surprise he accepted and subsequently we struck up a conversation through private messages.
“I have some information I think you might be able to use in your investigations,” I said to him. “Can you meet up?” he replied. I told him that I’d be in Northern Virginia within a day or two and we agreed to meet at a coffee shop in Alexandria. I have to admit I kind of “fanboyed” when I saw him walk in the door. And yet, the moment he spoke I knew this was a man of humility. I told him of how I had been in McCarrick’s seminary, had worked in TV news, was a Catholic school administrator, and that I had been following his work and really appreciated his exposes. At times the videos he would post with his stories were more compelling than an episode of Law & Order. In particular I asked him what it was like when he discovered that Teddy had been stashed in a DC Archdiocese-owned house to live with Bishop Dorsonville as his minder. George had knocked on the door and been let in by the housekeeper. He then promptly went looking throughout the residence for McCarrick himself! “What was that like,” I asked, assuming he would say it was “no big deal” or “all in a day’s work”.
“I was scared out of my mind,” he said. “Really?!” I asked. He regaled me with this tale. He had gone there not expecting what happened and yet, as he said, when the door was opened and he was let in, he knew he had to act. “But my heart was racing the whole time for sure.” I can’t put exclamation points at the end of his sentences because he was very measured and it just doesn’t seem right to give his words any level of excitability.
I also share with him something I knew he would find of interest. A year prior I had occasion to be in the security office of a large church in the nation’s capital. There, on the back of the door of the security office, was the infamous wanted poster. George had frequently mentioned that he had been barred from entry to this church because of his work. The church insisted they had no such order in place. I saw the picture. George was correct. He giggled when I told him, vindicated but, I suspect a little incredulous that he was on an actual wanted poster.
Flash forward a month. I’m not the only member of the Harvey family with a nose for news and who was also a fan of George’s work – and who also seems to be mixed up in bizarre situations. My older sister asked me if I could put her in touch with George. She had come across something she thought he could use in his crusade to expose the rot in the Church. So one evening she made a Facetime call to yours truly. She was sitting on her front porch. Nothing out of the ordinary here. She and her husband enjoy nights on the porch with a cocktail in the warm New Jersey summer. And then she turned the phone as she said, “Say hello to George.” There, sitting on a wicker rocking chair was the man himself. He had given her the same courtesy of following up on her lead as he had given to me. He had called her to inquire more of her story and said, “I’m at Penn Station. Where can we meet?” Naturally, she and her husband drove to the station and picked him up. And then they hung out on the porch for a while like old friends. While I was on the phone with him, several of my sister’s kids (all in their twenties) had come home from work. When they saw George Neumayr sitting there having a beer with their mom and dad they legitimately flipped. You thought I fanboyed? George thought this was amusing that he was known by younger Catholics as well as those of us a bit more seasoned. As I recall it was George Neumayr who that night had mentioned to my sister (who passed it along to me) that we really ought to be reading a site called Canon212. Thank you, George. It’s my homepage now.
Do you know what happened next? My sister, my brother-in-law, and George Neumayr got in the car and drove to a local mall. It wasn’t for the great sales… George had been working on bringing to light a situation involving a young laicized priest who had been accused of sexual misconduct. My sister knew where the guy worked. He had been her salesman. They drove there and walked in the door and George got his story. He wrote about it here. Unfortunately the link to the video of the encounter in the story is dead. But I have the original. I thought of posting it. It’s 15 minutes long. Some of you may remember watching it when he first published it. Instead here’s a screen grab. It is George doing what he did best. At one point early on, George asks a series of rapid-fire questions like a dog on a bone, starting with, “Was Monsignor X your pimp?”
This man couldn’t escape when George came with the hard-hitting questions.
George Neumayr was a tenacious reporter and a man fed up by the depravity of the men in the Church founded by Jesus Christ. He will be missed. I doubt we will see the likes of him again soon. Pray for his soul.
St. Joseph, patron of departing souls, pray for us!
Folks, I got off all that social media nonsense a while ago. Sorry but I'm not on Twitbook, Facepalm, YouHu, WingWang or any of the others. Maybe an event will happen to make me change my mind like Peter and Paul coming down with flaming swords and commanding it be so. Until then, read the blog and if you feel a comment is in order or you feel like sharing a tip or suggestion for a topic, email me at harvey@harveymillican.com.
Harvey Millican's Blog: Musings of a Trad Dad 