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Denver archbishop Samuel AquilaFr. Zak Boazman / Flickr

DENVER, Colorado, September 4, 2018, (LifeSiteNews) – Denver Archbishop Samuel Aquila added his voice to the growing number calling for an independent investigation in the wake of the publication of former papal nuncio Archbishop Carlo Viganò's testimony.

“Many of you are aware that this past weekend the former papal representative to the United States, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, released a testimony that makes serious allegations about the Archbishop McCarrick abuse case,” Aquila said in a letter addressed to his diocese.

“In my interactions with Archbishop Viganò, I have found him to be a man of deep faith and integrity,” added the Mile High City’s Archbishop.

“I join Cardinal DiNardo and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Executive Committee in calling for the Holy See to conduct a thorough investigation,” said Aquila, “that includes granting authority to a lay commission to examine the many questions that surround Archbishop McCarrick, such as who was involved in covering up his gravely immoral behavior or failed to act to stop it.”

“Righteous anger, deep frustration, and deep sorrow are understandable,” said Aquila, “and my heart breaks for the victims of abuse as well as for you that you must suffer this trial.”

“This is not the first time in the history of the Church that she has been rocked by a lack of faith and immorality among her clergy,” added Aquila. “As history teaches, only a strong return to Jesus Christ and his ways will heal the horrific sinful breach that has taken place.”

Please consider signing the pledge to support Archbishop Viganò.

Write to Doug Mainwaring at [email protected].

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Here is the full text of Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila’s letter:

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Many of you are aware that this past weekend the former papal representative to the United States, Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, released a testimony that makes serious allegations about the Archbishop McCarrick abuse case.

In my interactions with Archbishop Vigano I have found him to be a man of deep faith and integrity. I join Cardinal DiNardo and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Executive Committee in calling for the Holy See to conduct a thorough investigation that includes granting authority to a lay commission to examine the many questions that surround Archbishop McCarrick, such as who was involved in covering-up his gravely immoral behavior or failed to act to stop it.

As Cardinal DiNardo said on August 27, “The questions raised deserve answers that are conclusive and based on evidence. Without those answers, innocent men may be tainted by false accusation and the guilty may be left to repeat sins of the past.”

While righteous anger, deep frustration, and deep sorrow are understandable, and my heart breaks for the victims of abuse as well as for you that you must suffer this trial, we must all “keep our eyes fixed on Jesus Christ the perfecter of faith.” He is our strength! He is the truth who will set us free!

Jesus asks each of us, “Who are you going to serve?” Will it be the Lord, or the false gods of today – power, careerism, entitlement, sexual promiscuousness, and so many others? While we are in the world, we are not of the world and we are called to be of Christ alone, deepening our closeness to him in the sacramental life of the Church!

The call to holiness is real and possible, as Jesus tells us, “for God all things are possible!” Yet, when we let the ways of the world from us rather than the Gospel and Jesus, when we put more trust in the world than in Jesus, we end up where we are today. While, this is not the first time in the history of the Church that she has been rocked by a lack of faith and immorality among her clergy, as history teaches, only a strong return to Jesus Christ and his ways will heal the horrific sinful breach that has taken place!

The Gospel reading from John 6 last Sunday presents us with Jesus’ challenging question after he taught about his Real Presence in the Eucharist. He asked Peter and the other disciples: “Do you also want to leave?” Peter responded with his great statement of faith that gets to the heart of the matter. “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.”

We must pray for a deep faith in Jesus Christ, one that grows and deepens each day. We must live our lives in intimacy with Jesus, the Holy One of God! It is Jesus who will see us through this time of trial and purification, who will help us to live out the Beatitudes and be faithful to the commandments.

Know, my brothers and sisters, that you are in my prayers. Know that I am deeply grateful to you for your fidelity. I pray that your hearts and the heart of every disciple may be ever more conformed to the heart of Christ!

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Archbishop Aquila