I read in the news: “Pope Francis has declined to accept the resignation of French Cardinal Philippe Barbarin as archbishop of Lyon after he was convicted of failing to report a known predator priest to police.” Why would the Head of the Catholic Church behave in such a way? Doesn’t he feel any sympathy or respect whatsoever towards the thousands of victims of clerical abuse? This Vatican cover-up is downright shameful. In 2013 Pope Francis had promised “decisive action” on the child sex abuse crisis. Has he kept his word? On the contrary. The Pope’s summit on abuse has greatly disappointed not only the survivors but Catholics at large. “Something is rotten in the State of the Vatican”, as Prince Hamlet would put it…