Vatican cracks down on sex abuse accused
In a move seen as unprecedented, Pope Francis has effectively stripped United States prelate Theodore McCarrick of his cardinal’s title following allegations of sexual abuse, including one involving an 11-year-old boy.
The Vatican announced yesterday that Francis had ordered McCarrick to conduct a ‘‘life of prayer and penance’’ before a church trial was held.
Breaking with past practice, Francis decided to act swiftly on the resignation offered by the emeritus archbishop of Washington DC, even before the accusations are investigated by church officials.
McCarrick was previously one of the highest, most visible Catholic church officials in the US and was heavily involved in the church’s years-long response to allegations of priestly abuse there.
Francis received a letter from McCarrick offering to resign from the College of Cardinals on Friday evening, local time, after a spate of allegations that the 88-yearold prelate had for years sexually abused boys and had sexual misconduct with adult seminarians.
The Pope then ordered McCarrick’s ‘‘suspension from the exercise of any public ministry, together with the obligation to remain in a house yet to be indicated to him, for a life of prayer and penance until the accusations made against him are examined in a regular canonical trial’’, the Vatican said.
The McCarrick case posed a test of the pontiff’s recently declared resolve to battle what he called a ‘‘culture of coverup’’ of similar abuses in the church’s hierarchy.
McCarrick had already been removed from public ministry since June 20, pending a full investigation into claims that he fondled a teenager more than 40 years ago in New York City. He has denied these allegations.
Another alleged victim, James, says McCarrick exposed himself to him when he was 11 and continued a sexually abusive relationship with him for more than two decades. McCarrick has not responded publicly to these accusations.
Asking to be identified by only his first name to protect his family’s privacy, James told the Associated Press yesterday that he hopes the Pope’s approval of McCarrick’s resignation will help other victims ‘‘become free’’.
‘‘Basically, truth always prevails,’’ said James, who lives in Virginia. ‘‘Thankfully, everybody in today’s world is more understanding of the harm done by individual priests, and now we can start to heal.’’
McCarrick’s alleged sexual misconduct with adults was reportedly brought to the Vatican’s attention years ago.