Morning Briefing

NCR calls for "radical reform of Catholic clerical culture and the meaning of ordination itself" in an editorial that also calls for independent investigations at every level of the church, publication of names of credibly accused priests in every diocese and the abolition of confidentiality agreements of victims.

Of the conservative bishops releasing statements of praise for Archbishop Carlo Vigano, Michael Sean Winters says they "seem to have forgotten that they took an oath of fidelity to the pope in the presence of his nuncio, not an oath to the nuncio in the presence of the pope." It clear that Pope Francis’ critics will stop at nothing to take him down, he writes, and that"calls for "lay leadership" are a smokescreen for the ambitions to power harbored by those like Busch who simply hate the pope."

The president of the traditionalist Ave Maria University has released a statement condemning the Vigano letter and noting that most conservative Catholics — especially students at Ave Maria — "love Pope Francis and support him wholeheartedly." Jim Towey warns that "some members of the hierarchy assert their opinions as if they were elected pope instead of Francis."

Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City and Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco have released statements of praise for Vigano.