Theodore McCarrick#Vatican report

An only child, McCarrick was born on July 7, 1930, into an Irish American family in New York City to Theodore E. and Margaret T. (née McLaughlin) McCarrick. His father was a ship captain who died from tuberculosis when McCarrick was three years old,{{cite news |access-date=June 21, 2018 |date=October 1, 2004 |url=https://www.washingtonian.com/2004/10/01/the-man-in-the-red-hat/ |work=Washingtonian |title=The Man In The Red Hat |first=Chuck |last=Conconi}} and his mother then worked at an automobile parts factory in The Bronx.{{cite news |date=November 22, 2000 |work=The New York Times |title=Newark Prelate to Head Washington Archdiocese |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/22/us/newark-prelate-to-head-washington-archdiocese.html |last=Goodstein |first=Laurie}} As a child, McCarrick served as an altar boy at the Church of the Incarnation in Washington Heights. He was expelled from the Jesuit Xavier High School in his junior year for missing classes.{{cite magazine |url=https://www.washingtonian.com/2004/10/01/the-man-in-the-red-hat |title=The Man in the Red Hat |last=Conconi |first=Chuck |date=October 1, 2004 |magazine=The Washingtonian |publisher=Washingtonian Magazine, Inc.|location=Washington, D.C.|access-date=February 18, 2019}}{{cite web |url=http://www.stalbanroe.org/uploads/5/5/2/2/55223599/cardinal_theodore_edgar_mccarrick_.pdf |title=Cardinal Theodore Edgar McCarrick |last=Kennedy |first=Kerry |date=2008 |publisher=Crown Publishers (New York) |access-date=February 18, 2019}}

McCarrick missed an academic year due to the expulsion, but a friend of his family was able to help get him into the Jesuit Fordham Preparatory School.{{cite news|date=March 5, 2001|work=The New York Times|title=An American Cardinal Who Works to Help the World|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/03/05/us/public-lives-an-american-cardinal-who-works-to-help-the-world.html |last=Becker|first=Elizabeth | access-date = June 21, 2018}} At Fordham, he was elected student council president and served in the ROTC program for the United States Air Force. McCarrick studied in Switzerland for a year before returning to the United States and attending Fordham University.

McCarrick later entered St. Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers, from where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy (1954) and a Master of Arts in theology (1958).{{cite web| publisher= Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington| title = Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, Ph.D., D.D.| url = http://www.adw.org/about/lead_bio_mccarrick.asp| access-date = June 21, 2018| archive-date = December 6, 2006| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061206030257/http://adw.org/about/lead_bio_mccarrick.asp| df = mdy-all}} McCarrick was a polyglot, speaking five languages (English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish).{{Cite news |last1=Murphy |first1=Caryle |last2=Cooperman |first2=Alan |date=April 28, 2002 |title=Vatican's Man of The Hour |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2002/04/28/vaticans-man-of-the-hour/f8a133c9-b2d2-486b-9c2f-ab619afdee1e/ |access-date=April 5, 2025 |newspaper=The Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}{{Cite AV media | url = https://www.c-span.org/video/?187567-1/future-catholic-church | title = Future of the Catholic Church | date = July 11, 2005 | access-date = June 11, 2019 | work = C-SPAN | via = www.c-span.org | medium = video | first1 = Theodore | last1 = McCarrick | first2 = Rick | last2 = Dunham}}{{cite web|url=https://online.chq.org/ci/speakers/view/724|access-date=March 22, 2021|title=Archbishop Theodore E. McCarrick|publisher=Chautauqua Institution}}{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

McCarrick was ordained to the priesthood by Cardinal Francis Spellman, Archbishop of New York, on May 31, 1958. From 1958 to 1963, he furthered his studies at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., earning a PhD in sociology. He then served as an assistant chaplain at the Catholic University, becoming dean of students and director of development.

McCarrick served as president of the Catholic University of Puerto Rico from 1965 to 1969, and was given the honorary title of Domestic Prelate of His Holiness in 1965. While president, he was one of the authors of the Land O'Lakes Statement in 1967.{{cite book |last1=McCluskey S.J. |first1=Neil G. |date=1967 |publisher=privately published |location=Land O'Lakes, WI |url=https://cushwa.nd.edu/assets/245340/landolakesstatement.pdf|title=The Land O'Lakes Statement – the Idea of the Catholic University|via=University of Notre Dame}} In 1969, Cardinal Terence Cooke recalled McCarrick to New York. McCarrick was an associate secretary for education and an assistant priest at Blessed Sacrament parish from 1969 to 1971. He was Cooke's secretary from 1971 to 1977.{{cite web|first=Paul C. |last=Grzella|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/06/20/cardinal-theodore-mccarrick-accused-sex-abuse-minor/717555002/|title=Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, former archbishop, alleged to have sexually abused minor|website=Bridgewater Courier News|date=June 20, 2018}} He was later accused of sexually abusing a male minor during this period.{{cite news | first1=Laurie |last1=Goodstein | first2= Sharon|last2= Otterman |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/20/us/theodore-mccarrick-sex-abuse.html |title=American Cardinal Accused of Sexually Abusing Minor Is Removed From Ministry | work =The New York Times | date = July 20, 2018 | access-date= February 17, 2019}}

File:US Navy 010916-N-3235P-001 Admiral William Fallon, Vice Chief of Naval Operations, greets His Eminence Theodore Cardinal McCarrick, Archbishop of Washington.jpg, September 16, 2001, in Washington, D.C.]]

In May 1977, McCarrick was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of New York and Titular Bishop of Rusibisir by Pope Paul VI. He received his episcopal consecration on the following June 29 from Cardinal Cooke, with Archbishop John Maguire and Bishop Patrick Ahern serving as co-consecrators. He selected as his episcopal motto: "Come Lord Jesus" ({{bibleverse||Revelation|22:20}}).{{cite web| publisher =Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington| title =The Coat of Arms of Theodore Cardinal McCarrick, Archbishop of Watshington| work =Archdiocese of Washington| url =http://adw.org/coat-of-arms-mccarrick/| access-date =June 21, 2018| archive-date =July 5, 2017| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20170705062314/http://adw.org/coat-of-arms-mccarrick/| df =mdy-all}} As an auxiliary to Cardinal Cooke, he served as vicar of East Manhattan and the Harlems.

On November 19, 1981, McCarrick was appointed the first bishop of the Diocese of Metuchen, New Jersey. He was installed at St. Francis of Assisi Cathedral on January 31, 1982. During his tenure, McCarrick erected new parishes in Perth Amboy, Califon, Skillman, Old Bridge, and Three Bridges.{{cite news|publisher=Roman Catholic Diocese of Metuchen|title=History|url=http://www.diometuchen.org/about-us/history/|access-date=April 10, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180804170412/https://diometuchen.org/about-us/history/|archive-date=August 4, 2018}} He was also on the Bishops' Ad Hoc Committee that revised the New American Bible in 1986{{Cite web |title=New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE) - Version Information - BibleGateway.com |url=https://www.biblegateway.com/versions/New-American-Bible-Revised-Edition-NABRE-Bible/ |access-date=April 5, 2025 |website=www.biblegateway.com |language=en}} and oversaw the development of the Diocesan Council of Catholic Women, Bishop's Annual Appeal, and ministries for blacks and Hispanics, anti-abortion activities, and the disabled.

File:Secretary Mel Martinez with Cardinal Theodore McCarrick 207-DP-8339A.jpg with Cardinal Theodore McCarrick in February 2002]]

In 2001 a Catholic high school, originally established in 1885 and renamed multiple times through the years, was named Cardinal McCarrick High School in honor of McCarrick as the first bishop of the diocese. The school, which was located in South Amboy, closed in June 2015 for "financial reasons" shortly before a fourth teacher within 10 years was arrested for sexual misconduct.{{cite web|first=Paul|last=Milo|url=http://www.nj.com/middlesex/index.ssf/2015/05/mccarrick_high_school_in_south_amboy_closing_in_ju.html|title=McCarrick High School in South Amboy closing in June, report says|website=NJ.com|date=May 19, 2015|access-date=September 23, 2015}}{{Cite web |last=Russell |first=Suzanne |title=Charge: Ex-Cardinal McCarrick teacher had sex with student |url=https://www.mycentraljersey.com/story/news/crime/jersey-mayhem/2015/07/09/former-cardinal-mccarrick-teacher-accused-sex-assault/29927021/ |access-date=April 11, 2025 |website=Courier News |language=en-US}}

On May 30, 1986, McCarrick was appointed the fourth Archbishop of Newark. He succeeded Peter Leo Gerety, and was installed at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart on the following July 25. During his tenure, he established the Office of Evangelization, ministries for Hispanics and victims of HIV, and a drug prevention program.{{cite news|publisher=Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark|title=Most Reverend Theodore E. McCarrick, Ph.D., D.D.|url=http://www.rcan.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=feature.display&feature_id=117|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170625020937/http://www.rcan.org/offices-and-ministries/history-archives/archdiocesan-history/theodore-e-mccarrick|archive-date=June 25, 2017}} He also promoted vocations, and ordained a total of 200 priests for the archdiocese.

File:Cardinal McCarrick june 18 06.jpg

McCarrick became known as an advocate for social justice, once saying, "[T]he Church cannot be authentic unless it takes care of the poor, the newcomers, the needy." During the 1980s, he served as an official observer to the Helsinki Commission and the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe at the behest of the U.S. State Department. In 1988, he participated in an interfaith meeting with Fidel Castro to promote religious freedom in Cuba, the first meeting of its kind subsequent to the fall of Fulgencio Batista. McCarrick, as a representative of Irish immigrant families, was chosen to be placed in the Ellis Island Hall of Fame on December 8, 1990.

Within the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), he served as chairman of the Committee on Aid to the Church in Central and Eastern Europe from 1992 to 1997. In this capacity, he visited such countries as Serbia and Montenegro, the Baltics, and Kazakhstan. He was twice elected to head the USCCB's Committee on Migration, and once asked the United States Congress "to recognize and support the important task of nurturing new citizens so that they may begin to play a full role in the future of this nation." He later became a member of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples.{{cite web| url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2025/04/06/theodore-mccarrick-cardinal-defrocked-sex-abuse-obituary/ |title=Theodore McCarrick, powerful cardinal whose career ended in disgrace over accusations of sexual abuse |work=The Telegraph |date=April 6, 2025}}

He was elected chairman of the Bishops' Committee on International Policy in 1996. He visited Bosnia (which he described as "reminiscent of the Holocaust"), China, Poland, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, and Switzerland. Joined by Secretary of Labor Alexis Herman, he announced an initiative in 1997 to assure that Catholic school uniforms in his archdiocese would not be manufactured in sweatshops.{{cite news|work=The Catholic-Labor Network|title=Archdiocese of Newark Sweatshop Initiative|url=http://www.catholiclabor.org/schools/Newark-Sweatshops.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724082440/http://www.catholiclabor.org/schools/Newark-Sweatshops.html|archive-date=July 24, 2008}} In 1998, in addition to his duties as archbishop, McCarrick was designated as superior of the Roman Catholic Mission sui iuris of the Turks and Caicos Islands; he delegated this mission to priests of the Neocatechumenal Way.New Catholic Encyclopedia Supplement 2009 (Gale/Cengage Learning, 2010), p. 671.

File:President George W. Bush and Archbishop of Washington.jpg and Laura Bush welcome outgoing Archbishop of Washington McCarrick, left, the incoming Archbishop of Washington Donald Wuerl, far right, and Papal Nuncio Pietro Sambi to the White House.]]

In 1999, Pope John Paul II informed Cardinal John O'Connor that he was considering appointing McCarrick the Archbishop of Washington, D.C.. O'Connor sent a letter to Gabriel Montalvo Higuera, the papal nuncio to the United States, advising him of reports of misconduct by McCarrick. The Vatican asked Cardinal Agostino Cacciavillan, who had been the papal nuncio at the time of many of the allegations. Cacciavillan cast doubt on O'Connor's report. After an investigation, Montalvo reported that the accusations against McCarrick were "neither definitively proven nor completely groundless" and advised against appointing McCarrick to Washington.

In July 2000, Pope John Paul II decided not to appoint McCarrick to Washington.[https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/263185/a-timeline-of-abuse-allegations-against-deceased-former-cardinal-theodore-mccarrick A timeline of abuse allegations against deceased former cardinal Theodore McCarrick] However, one month later, McCarrick himself wrote a letter to Pope John Paul II's secretary to say that he had been tipped off about O'Connor's letter and vehemently denied the allegations:

{{blockquote|Your Excellency, sure I have made mistakes and may have sometimes lacked in prudence, but in the 70 years of my life, I have never had sexual relations with any person, male or female, young or old, cleric or lay, nor have I ever abused another person or treated them with disrespect ... If I understand the accusations that Cardinal O'Connor may have made, they are not true.}}

Pope John Paul II was convinced by McCarrick's letter, and the two met at the Vatican in October 2000. Pope John Paul II appointed McCarrick Archbishop of Washington, D.C. in November 2000.{{cite news|first=Laurie|last=Goodstein|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/22/us/newark-prelate-to-head-washington-archdiocese.html|title=Newark Prelate to Head Washington Archdiocese|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=November 22, 2000}} McCarrick was formally installed as the fifth archbishop of Washington at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle on January 3, 2001.{{cite news|first=Bill |last=Broadway|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2001/01/13/sent-here-to-be-a-shepherd/e02c0991-1d8d-43d4-aaea-170eefe5b392/|title='Sent Here To Be a Shepherd'|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=January 13, 2001}} On February 21, 2001, John Paul made him a cardinal,{{cite news|last1=Stanley|first1=Alexandra|title=Shaping a Legacy, Pope Installs 44 Cardinals|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/22/world/shaping-a-legacy-pope-installs-44-cardinals.html|work=The New York Times|date= February 22, 2001| access-date=June 20, 2018}}{{cite news|first=Sarah|last=Delaney|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2001/02/22/for-mccarrick-a-higher-office/928cf2c9-db8f-434f-897d-d84af63ff7f2/|title=For McCarrick, a Higher Office|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=February 22, 2001}} assigning him as cardinal priest to the titular church of Santi Nereo e Achilleo. He was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 2005 papal conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI.{{cite news|last1=Goodsetin |first1=Laurie|last2=Wakin| first2=Daniel J.| title=Cardinals Hint at Profile of New Pope: Presence Preferred| url= https://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/10/world/worldspecial2/cardinals-hint-at-profile-of-new-pope-presence.html |access-date= June 20, 2018| work=The New York Times|date=April 10, 2005}}

In June 2004, McCarrick was accused of intentionally misreading a letter from Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger recommending that Catholic politicians who supported abortion rights be denied the Eucharist. McCarrick led a successful push to have the USCCB allow the bishops of individual dioceses to determine who was or was not eligible to receive the sacrament of communion. Fr. Richard John Neuhaus said, "The bishops I have talked to have no doubt that [McCarrick's] presentation did not accurately represent the communication from Cardinal Ratzinger."{{cite news |url=http://natcath.org/NCR_Online/archives2/2004d/100104/100104h.php |title=Critics charge that Washington cardinal misled bishops' conference |last=Feuerherd |first=Joe |date=October 1, 2004 |newspaper=National Catholic Reporter|access-date=September 3, 2018}} McCarrick said that he did not want to cause "a confrontation with the Sacred Body of the Lord Jesus in my hand," and added that "the individual should be the one who decides whether or not he is in communion with the Church" and therefore eligible to receive the sacrament. McCarrick later met with then senator John Kerry, a Catholic and the Democratic nominee in that year's presidential election. Some Catholics felt Kerry should not have been allowed to receive Communion due to his political position favoring abortion rights.

Although McCarrick was sometimes labelled a liberal, he was noted for adhering to church teaching on abortion, same-sex marriage, and the male-only priesthood. American Catholic journalist Michael Sean Winters disputed this claim, writing, "Liberals embraced him as a champion of moderation at a time when the Church was seen as increasingly reactionary. I always thought he was playing to the cameras."{{cite news |last=Winters |first=Michael Sean |date=November 30, 2020 |title=The inescapable politics of being Washington's cardinal |url=https://www.ncronline.org/opinion/distinctly-catholic/inescapable-politics-being-washingtons-cardinal |access-date=April 5, 2025 |work=National Catholic Reporter |author-link=Michael Sean Winters}}

{{Multiple image|header=Heraldic achievements as Archbishop of Washington|direction=vertical

|image1=Coat of arms of Theodore Edgar McCarrick (used 2000-2001).svg|caption1=As an archbishop (2000–2001)

|image2=Coat of arms of Cardinal Theodore Edgar McCarrick.svg|caption2=As a cardinal (2001–2018)

}}

On May 16, 2006, Pope Benedict XVI accepted McCarrick's resignation as Archbishop of Washington, after the latter's reaching the customary age limit of 75, and appointed Donald Wuerl, Bishop of Pittsburgh, as the 6th Archbishop of Washington, DC. From May 16, 2006, until Wuerl's installation on June 22, 2006, McCarrick served as the Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese of Washington, an interim post.{{cite news | newspaper = The Washington Post | access-date = July 28, 2018| url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/16/AR2006051600288.html | title = McCarrick Successor Seen As a 'Vote for Continuity' | date = May 17, 2006| first1= Alan | last1=Cooperman | first2= Caryle | last2= Murphy}}

After his retirement, McCarrick resided for some time at the Redemptoris Mater seminary in the Archdiocese of Washington. He subsequently moved to the grounds of the provincial headquarters of the Institute of the Incarnate Word in Chillum, Maryland, in a building on a complex that included a seminary.{{cite news |title=Cardinal McCarrick reportedly lived on IVE seminary property during retirement |last=Bunderson |first=Carl |url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/38960/cardinal-mccarrick-reportedly-lived-on-ive-seminary-property-during-retirement |date=July 24, 2018 |agency=Catholic News Agency |access-date=July 31, 2018}} McCarrick was named a counselor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in 2007.{{cite press release | url = http://www.csis.org/component/option,com_csis_press/task,view/id,2571/ | date = March 5, 2007 | access-date = June 21, 2018 | publisher = Center for Strategic & International Studies | title = Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, Archbishop Emeritus of Washington Named CSIS Counselor | archive-date = March 13, 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070313202011/https://www.csis.org/component/option,com_csis_press/task,view/id,2571/ | df = mdy-all}}

In 2009, McCarrick presided over the graveside service of U.S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy at Arlington National Cemetery, where he read from a letter Kennedy had written to Pope Benedict XVI.{{cite news| first=Dan |last=Barry | url= https://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/30/us/politics/30kennedy.html | title= Kennedy Mourners Memorialize 'Soul of the Democratic Party' | work=The New York Times | date=August 30, 2009 | access-date= June 20, 2018}}{{Cite web | url=https://www.c-span.org/video/?288601-1/senator-edward-kennedy-burial-arlington-national-cemetery | title=Senator Edward Kennedy Burial Arlington National Cemetery, Aug 29 2009}}{{Cite web | url=https://www.bostonherald.com/2009/08/30/flame-now-burns-for-ted-at-arlington/ | title=Flame now burns for Ted at Arlington| date=August 30, 2009}} In 2015, he served as one of the concelebrants at the funeral of Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden,{{Cite news | url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/politicians-thought-they-knew-the-cardinal-among-them--they-didnt/2018/08/01/2078ae44-94ff-11e8-810c-5fa705927d54_story.html | title = Politicians thought they knew the cardinal among them. They didn't. | date = August 2, 2018 | first = Paul | last = Kane | newspaper = The Washington Post | access-date = June 11, 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190217084924/https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/politicians-thought-they-knew-the-cardinal-among-them--they-didnt/2018/08/01/2078ae44-94ff-11e8-810c-5fa705927d54_story.html | archive-date = February 17, 2019 | url-status = live}} son of President Joe Biden, (then Vice President){{Cite web | url = https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/articles.cfm?id=342 | title = The Kennedy Funeral: Boston's Latest Scandal | date = September 3, 2009 | first = Phil | last = Lawler | access-date = June 11, 2019}} and presided over the closing Mass as well.{{Cite AV media | url = https://www.c-span.org/video/?326426-1/funeral-mass-beau-biden | title = Funeral Service for Beau Biden | date = June 6, 2015 | access-date = June 11, 2019 | work = C-SPAN | via = www.c-span.org | location = Wilmington, Delaware | medium = video | time = 153}}

Within the church, McCarrick "was always seen as a moderate, centrist presence in the hierarchy, a telegenic pastor who could present the welcoming face of the Church, no matter what the circumstances". A news article identified him in 2014 as "one of a number of senior churchmen who were more or less put out to pasture during the eight-year pontificate of Benedict XVI", adding that after the election of Pope Francis he found himself put "back in the mix."{{cite news|last=Gibson |first=David |title=Globe-trotting Cardinal Theodore McCarrick is almost 84, and working harder than ever |newspaper=The Washington Post|date=June 16, 2014 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/religion/globe-trotting-cardinal-theodore-mccarrick-is-almost-84-and-working-harder-than-ever/2014/06/16/bf40f9b8-f581-11e3-930d-ca5db8eb8323_story.html}} He was described as a "pope maker" by David Gibson, a longtime religion reporter and author of "The Coming Catholic Church".{{cite web|last=Conconi |first=Chuck |title=The Man In The Red Hat: With a Controversial Catholic in the Presidential Race, the Cardinal Is Seen by Many as the Vatican's Man in Washington-and He May Play a Big Role in the Selection of the Next Pope |website=Washingtonian|date=October 1, 2004 |url=https://www.washingtonian.com/2004/10/01/the-man-in-the-red-hat/l}}

During his retirement, McCarrick pressed House Speaker John Boehner to take up immigration reform. McCarrick spent a significant amount of time traveling and engaging in inter-religious dialogue. In April 2014, at the request of the U.S. State Department, McCarrick (along with a Muslim and an Evangelical cleric) made a trip to the Central African Republic, a country suffering from ethnic and interreligious violence. In May 2014, he traveled with Pope Francis to the Holy Land. McCarrick traveled to Armenia to discuss Syria with Eastern Orthodox clerics, the Philippines to visit typhoon victims, China for discussions on religious freedom, Iran for talks on nuclear proliferation,{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/religion/globe-trotting-cardinal-theodore-mccarrick-is-almost-84-and-working-harder-than-ever/2014/06/16/bf40f9b8-f581-11e3-930d-ca5db8eb8323_story.html|title=Globe-trotting Cardinal Theodore McCarrick is almost 84, and working harder than ever |last=Gibson |first=David |date=June 16, 2014 |agency=Religion News Service|newspaper=The Washington Post|publisher=Nash Holdings|location=Washington, D.C.}} and served as a Vatican intermediary for the U.S.-Cuba talks.{{cite web|last=Winfield |first=Nicole |title=Pope on McCarrick claims: 'I won't say a word about it' |agency=Religion News Service|date=August 27, 2018 |url=https://religionnews.com/2018/08/27/pope-on-mccarrick-claims-i-wont-say-a-word-about-it/ }}

On January 27, 2017, in response to rumors that President Donald Trump was planning to appoint Catholic commentator George Weigel ambassador to the Holy See, then-Cardinal McCarrick wrote to Pope Francis stating that Weigel was "very much a leader of the ultra-conservative wing of the Catholic Church in the United States and has been publicly critical of Your Holiness in the past." He added, "Many of us American bishops would have great concerns about his being named to such a position in which he would have an official voice, in opposition to your teaching." McCarrick indicated interest in discussing the topic further with the Pope, but there are no indications in their correspondence of whether he did so.{{cite web |url=https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2019/05/28/mccarrick-correspondence-confirms-restrictions-speaks-to-wuerl-and-china/ |title=McCarrick correspondence confirms restrictions, speaks to Wuerl and China |date=May 28, 2019 |publisher=Crux Now |access-date=June 18, 2019 |archive-date=May 29, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190529171935/https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2019/05/28/mccarrick-correspondence-confirms-restrictions-speaks-to-wuerl-and-china/ }}

{{See also|Catholic Church sex abuse cases in the United States}}

In 1994, a priest wrote a letter to Bishop Edward T. Hughes, McCarrick's successor as Bishop of Metuchen, stating that McCarrick had inappropriately touched him. Also in 1994, Agostino Cacciavillan, then papal nuncio to the United States, received a phone call from a woman who was concerned that there would be a media scandal if Pope John Paul II went to Newark during his 1995 visit to the United States because of "voices (rumors) about McCarrick's behavior with seminarians." Cacciavillan then told Cardinal John O'Connor, Archbishop of New York, about the woman's call. O'Connor conducted an "investigation, an inquiry" and eventually told Cacciavillan that "there was no obstacle to the visit of the Pope to Newark." Cacciavillan stated that he did not inform the Vatican.{{cite news |url=http://catholicherald.co.uk/news/2018/10/29/former-nuncio-to-us-admits-hearing-rumors-of-mccarrick-misconduct-in-1994/?platform=hootsuite |title=Former nuncio to US admits hearing rumors of McCarrick misconduct in 1994 |last=Duncan |first=Robert |date=October 29, 2018 |newspaper=Catholic Herald |access-date=October 29, 2018}} According to Italian journalists Andrea Tornielli and Gianni Valente, Cardinal O'Connor, in fact, "objected strongly to John Paul II's idea of rewarding McCarrick and the diocese of Newark with a stop during his papal visit to the United States in 1995", but that John Paul's personal secretary, Stanisław Dziwisz, was able to intercept these objections before they reached the pope. The authors suggest that this was because as bishop, McCarrick was an efficient fundraiser for the Pope's causes, including anti-Communist efforts in Poland.{{Cite magazine|first=Massimo|last=Faggioli|url=https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/day-judgment|title=The Day of Judgment|magazine=Commonweal Magazine|date=November 29, 2018}}

Boniface Ramsey stated that he spoke to Thomas C. Kelly, Archbishop of Louisville, about McCarrick in 1993. In 2000, Ramsey wrote to the nuncio, Gabriel Montalvo Higuera, to complain about McCarrick's behavior.{{cite news |url=https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2018/08/14/abuse-letter-to-cardinal-omalley-was-second-priest-sent-officials-about-mccarrick/ |title=Abuse letter to Cardinal O'Malley was second priest sent officials about McCarrick |last=Guidos |first=Rhina |date=August 14, 2018 |newspaper=Crux |access-date=August 14, 2018 |archive-date=November 24, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181124135334/https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2018/08/14/abuse-letter-to-cardinal-omalley-was-second-priest-sent-officials-about-mccarrick/ }}{{cite news |title=Letter confirms Vatican officials knew of McCarrick allegations in 2000 |date=September 7, 2018 |first1=Robert |last1=Duncan |first2=Junno |last2=Esteves |url=https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2018/09/07/letter-confirms-vatican-officials-knew-of-mccarrick-allegations-in-2000/ |newspaper=Crux |access-date=September 28, 2018 |archive-date=September 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220903165728/https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2018/09/07/letter-confirms-vatican-officials-knew-of-mccarrick-allegations-in-2000 }} The letter was forwarded to Leonardo Sandri, the Vatican substitute for general affairs and later, a cardinal.{{cite news|url=https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2020/02/05/who-knew-what-about-former-cardinal-theodore-mccarrick |title=Who knew what about former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick? |last=Reese |first=Thomas J. |website=America Magazine |date=February 5, 2020 |access-date=April 19, 2020}} Ramsey said that he tried to speak with Cardinal Edward Egan, then Archbishop of New York, about McCarrick's history, but that Egan "didn't want to hear it". In February 2019, the same month McCarrick was laicized by the Vatican, an image of a letter dated October 11, 2006, which Sandri sent to Ramsey, and which illustrates Ramsey's account of his involvement in the McCarrick affair, was published by the media, including in a Commonweal article which Ramsey himself wrote.{{cite news | work = Commonweal | access-date = December 30, 2020 | url = https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/case-theodore-mccarrick | date= February 16, 2019 | title= The Case of Theodore McCarrick: A Failure of Fraternal Correction| first = Boniface | last= Ramsey}} The image showed that McCarrick's name and Archbishop status were concealed in the letter whenever Sandri mentioned it.

In 2015, Ramsey wrote to Cardinal Seán Patrick O'Malley, Archbishop of Boston, about McCarrick.{{cite news |newspaper=The Boston Globe |last=Levenson |first=Michael |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2018/07/25/priest-who-alerted-church-officials-abuse-allegations-against-washington-prelate-wants-investigation-into-how-they-responded/gBlC7m2CWHJZaqsVUu9fMO/story.html |title=Priest who alerted church officials to abuse allegations against Washington, D.C., prelate wants investigation into how they responded |date=July 25, 2018 |access-date=September 12, 2018}} O'Malley stated that he never saw the letter, and that it had been handled "at the staff level." Richard Sipe stated that he wrote a letter to Benedict XVI in 2008, saying that McCarrick's activities "had been widely known for several decades." Sipe sent a letter to Bishop Robert W. McElroy in 2016, concerning sexual misconduct by McCarrick. McElroy asked if Sipe would be willing to share corroborating material that would substantiate his allegations. Sipe said that he was precluded from sharing specific documentary information. McElroy said "[T]he limitations on his willingness to share corroborating information made it impossible to know what was real and what was rumor."

Mike Kelly of the New Jersey Record reported that in a conversation with Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin of Newark, Tobin said that around the time he became Archbishop of Newark in 2016, he heard "rumors" about McCarrick having slept with seminarians, but chose not to believe them, stating that at the time they seemed too "incredulous" to be true. Kelly also mentioned that in 1998, based on a tip, he himself had attempted to investigate the rumors, "but no seminarians would talk".{{cite news |url=https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/columnists/mike-kelly/2018/08/31/catholic-church-sex-abuse-secrets-must-faced/1149640002/ |title=Kelly: The secret life of Catholic Cardinal Theodore McCarrick and reports of sex abuse |last=Kelly |first=Mike |date=August 31, 2018 |newspaper=USA Today |access-date=September 1, 2018}}

In 2018, news outlets reported that priests and former seminarians under McCarrick had alleged that McCarrick had engaged in inappropriate conduct with male seminarians.{{cite news |date=July 16, 2018 |newspaper=The New York Times |title=He Preyed on Men Who Wanted to Be Priests. Then He Became a Cardinal |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/16/us/cardinal-mccarrick-abuse-priest.html |last1=Goodstein |first1=Laurie |last2=Otterman |first2=Sharon |access-date=July 16, 2018}} These included reports that he made sexual advances toward young men training as seminarians during his tenure as Bishop of Metuchen and Archbishop of Newark.{{cite news |last1=Haring |first1=Paul |title=Timeline on archbishop's life, ministry, abuse claims made against him |url=http://catholicphilly.com/2018/08/news/national-news/timeline-on-archbishops-life-ministry-abuse-claims-made-against-him/ |access-date=August 29, 2019 |website=Catholic Philly |date=August 9, 2018}} McCarrick reportedly routinely invited some of these young men to a house on the shore with so few beds that a man would have to share the bishop's bed. According to one former seminarian, Desmond Rossi, he and a friend later realized that the archbishop would cancel weekend gatherings "if there were not enough men going that they would exceed the number of available beds, thus necessitating one guest to share a bed with the archbishop".{{Cite web|url=https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2018/07/25/albany-priest-describes-culture-harassment-under-mccarrick|title=Albany priest describes culture of harassment under McCarrick|date=July 25, 2018|website=America Magazine}} Rossi subsequently transferred before ordination from the Archdiocese of Newark to a diocese in New York State.

Wuerl denied having any prior knowledge of claims regarding sexual abuse on the part of McCarrick. On January 10, 2019, The Washington Post published a story stating that Wuerl was aware of allegations against McCarrick in 2004 and reported them to the Vatican.{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/social-issues/2019/01/10/b542cbba-1513-11e9-803c-4ef28312c8b9_story.html |title=Despite past denials, D.C. Cardinal Donald Wuerl knew of sexual misconduct allegations against ex-cardinal Theodore McCarrick and reported them to Vatican |last=Boorstein |first=Michelle |date=January 10, 2019 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=January 10, 2019}} In a January 12, 2019, letter, Wuerl stated that when "the allegation of sexual abuse of a minor was brought against Archbishop McCarrick, I stated publicly that I was never aware of any such allegation or rumors." But the context, he said, was in discussions about sexual abuse of minors, not adults. He later said, in a letter dated January 15, to the priests of the archdiocese, that the survivor in the previous Pittsburgh case had asked that the matter be kept confidential, and he heard no more about it: "I did not avert to it again"; "only afterwards was I reminded of the 14-year-old accusation of inappropriate conduct which, by that time, I had forgotten."{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2019/01/16/cardinal-wuerl-apologizes-priests-mccarrick-victim-says-he-forgot-he-knew-about-harassment-allegations |title=Wuerl apologizes to priests, McCarrick victim, says he forgot about harassment allegations |last=Boorstein |first=Michelle |date=January 16, 2019 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=January 17, 2019}}

In August 2019, letters and postcards that McCarrick sent to his alleged victims were made public. Two abuse prevention experts who reviewed the letters and postcards for the Associated Press described the correspondence as "a window into the way a predator grooms his prey."{{cite web |url=https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2019/08/ex-cardinal-letters-show-signs-of-grooming-victims-for-abuse/ |title=Ex-cardinal letters show signs of grooming victims for abuse |last=Winfield |first=Nicole |date=August 6, 2019 |website=Crux |agency=Associated Press |access-date=December 11, 2019}}

On June 20, 2018, McCarrick was removed from public ministry by the Holy See, after a review board of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York found an allegation "credible and substantiated" that he had sexually abused a 16-year-old altar boy while a priest in New York. Patrick Noaker, the attorney for the anonymous complainant, alleged two incidents at St. Patrick's Cathedral, one in 1971 and the other in 1972.{{cite news |first=Daniel |last=Burke |url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/20/politics/theodore-mccarrick-washington-abuse-allegation/index.html |title=Cardinal removed from public ministry after sex abuse allegation |website= CNN |date=June 20, 2018 |access-date= June 20, 2018}} Noaker stated that when measuring the teen for a cassock, McCarrick "unzipped [the boy's] pants and put his hands in the boy's pants."{{cite news |first1=Julie |last1= Zauzmer |first2=Michelle |last2=Boorstein |first3=Dana |last3=Hedgpeth |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2018/06/20/cardinal-theodore-mccarrick-former-archbishop-of-washington-has-been-removed-from-ministry-after-a-sex-abuse-allegation/ |title=Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, former archbishop of Washington, has been removed from ministry after a sex abuse allegation |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=June 20, 2018 |date=June 20, 2018}} McCarrick stated that he was innocent of these charges: "I have absolutely no recollection of this reported abuse, and believe in my innocence." He also stated, "In obedience I accept the decision of The Holy See, that I no longer exercise any public ministry."{{cite web |publisher=Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington |title=Statements Regarding Cardinal Theodore McCarrick |work=Archdiocese of Washington |url=http://adw.org/mcarrick/ |access-date=July 29, 2018|url-status = live|archive-date= July 24, 2018| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180724082902/https://adw.org/statements-regarding-cardinal-mccarrick/}} Also on June 20, 2018, Tobin revealed that during McCarrick's ministry in New Jersey, there had been accusations of sexual misconduct with three adults, and that two of the allegations had resulted in confidential financial settlements with the complainants.{{cite news |first1=Kelly |last1=Heyboer |first2=Ted |last2=Sherman |url=https://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2018/06/former_newark_archbishop_theodore_mccarrick_remove.html |title=Allegations of Sexual abuse and settlements: What we know about Cardinal McCarrick's dramatic downfall |work=NJ.com |agency=NJ Advance Media |date=June 20, 2018 |access-date=June 20, 2018 |quote=The dates and of the settlements were not disclosed. Church officials also did not say if the settlements involved payments to the victims.}}{{cite news |title=Cardinal McCarrick suspended from public ministry after abuse allegations |date=June 20, 2018 |access-date=June 21, 2018 |newspaper=America |url=https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2018/06/20/cardinal-mccarrick-suspended-public-ministry-after-abuse-allegation}}

On July 5, 2018, Fordham University rescinded an honorary degree and other honors it had granted McCarrick.{{cite press release |url=https://news.fordham.edu/university-news/fordham-university-statement-cardinal-mccarrick-2/ |title=Fordham University statement: Cardinal McCarrick |publisher=Fordham University |access-date=July 18, 2018 |date=July 5, 2018 |first=Joseph J. |last=McShane |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180729112140/https://news.fordham.edu/university-news/fordham-university-statement-cardinal-mccarrick-2/ |archive-date=July 29, 2018 }}{{cite news |first=Christopher |last=White |url=https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2018/07/20/as-mccarrick-spotlight-grows-is-revoking-honors-sensitivity-or-whitewash/ |newspaper=Crux |title=As McCarrick spotlight grows, is revoking honors sensitivity or whitewash? |access-date=July 20, 2018 |date=July 20, 2018 |archive-date=July 20, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180720105140/https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2018/07/20/as-mccarrick-spotlight-grows-is-revoking-honors-sensitivity-or-whitewash/ }}{{cite web|url=https://fordhamobserver.com/35221/news/fordham-rescinds-cardinals-awards/|title=Fordham Rescinds Cardinal's Awards|last=Meltzer|first=Jordan|date=July 11, 2018|website=Fordham Observer|access-date=February 7, 2019}} The Catholic University of America, where McCarrick earned two degrees and served in a variety of spiritual and administrative positions, also revoked the honorary degree it had awarded him in 2006.{{cite web |url=http://commencement.cua.edu/res/docs/Master-Listing-of-All-Honorary-Degrees-2018.pdf |title=Honorary Degrees Conferred by The Catholic University of America Master List |access-date = July 20, 2018 }} On July 16, 2018, The New York Times published a front-page article describing McCarrick's abuse of adult seminarians.{{cite news |first=Julia |last=Duin |url=https://www.getreligion.org/getreligion/2018/7/18/cardinal-mccarrick-part-2-the-new-york-times-takes-a-stab-at-the-story |publisher=Get Religion |author-link=Julia Duin |title=Cardinal Ted McCarrick, Part II: The New York Times takes a stab at this old story |access-date=July 18, 2018 |date=July 18, 2018}} On July 19, The New York Times published an article based on the story of a man named James, whose last name was withheld. A New Jersey man whose uncle had known McCarrick since high school, James alleged that McCarrick had sexually abused him beginning at age 11. James had been the first boy McCarrick had ever baptized. James said that McCarrick had exposed himself to him when he was 11 and had sexually touched him beginning when he was 13. He explained that he tried to tell his father a couple of years later but was not believed.{{cite news |date=July 19, 2018 |newspaper=The New York Times |title=Man Says Cardinal McCarrick, His 'Uncle Ted,' Sexually Abused Him for Years |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/19/nyregion/mccarrick-cardinal-sexual-abuse.html |last=Otterman |first=Sharon |access-date=July 19, 2018}}{{cite news |date=July 19, 2018 |work=NJ.com |title=Cardinal McCarrick accused of sexually abusing N.J. boy, report says |url=https://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2018/07/cardinal_mccarrick_accused_of_sexually_abusing_nj.html |last=Heyboer |first=Kelly |access-date=July 19, 2018}} On November 13, James revealed himself as James Grein, and gave a public speech at the "Silence Stops Now Rally" in Baltimore, where he called on Catholics to "reform and reclaim the Church." Speaking about alleged mishandling of allegations by Catholic bishops, he said, "Our bishops must know that the jig is up."{{cite web |url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/39896/alleged-victim-of-archbishop-mccarrick-speaks-at-rally-outside-usccb-meeting |title=Alleged victim of Archbishop McCarrick speaks at rally outside USCCB meeting |last=Rousselle |first=Christine |date=November 13, 2018 |publisher=Catholic News Agency |access-date=November 14, 2018}}

On July 27, 2018, Pope Francis ordered McCarrick to observe "a life of prayer and penance in seclusion" and accepted his resignation from the College of Cardinals, the first resignation since Louis Billot, a French prelate, resigned in 1927 when he refused an order to withdraw his support of Action Française, a monarchist movement that Pope Pius XI had condemned.{{cite news |url=https://cruxnow.com/news-analysis/2018/07/29/no-question-pope-francis-made-history-saturday-on-mccarrick/ |newspaper=Crux |access-date=July 29, 2018 |date=July 29, 2018 |first=John J. Jr. |last=Allen |title=No question, Pope Francis made history Saturday on McCarrick |archive-date=September 29, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180929133001/https://cruxnow.com/news-analysis/2018/07/29/no-question-pope-francis-made-history-saturday-on-mccarrick/ }} He was also the first cardinal to resign after allegations of sexual abuse.{{cite news |last1=Povoledo |first1=Elisabetta |last2=Otterman |first2=Sharon |newspaper=The New York Times |title=Cardinal Theodore McCarrick Resigns Amid Sexual Abuse Scandal |date=July 28, 2018 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/28/world/europe/cardinal-theodore-mccarrick-resigns.html }} The Pope took this action before the accusations were investigated by church officials, the first time an order of penance and prayer has been issued before a church trial.{{cite news |url=https://www.nola.com/religion/index.ssf/2018/07/pope_mccarrick_sex_abuse.html |title=Pope strips Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of title, rank after sex abuse reports |newspaper=The Times – Picayune|agency=Associated Press|date= July 28, 2018}} McCarrick was not laicized (removed from the priesthood) at the time, pending the completion of a canonical trial. The Holy See announced on July 28, 2018, that Pope Francis had ordered Archbishop McCarrick (as he then became known) to obey an "obligation to remain in a house yet to be indicated to him" and also observe "a life of prayer and penance until the accusations made against him are examined in a regular canonical trial."{{cite news |url=https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2018-07/pope-francis-cardinal-mccarrick-resignation.html |access-date=August 24, 2018 |date= July 28, 2018 |work=Vatican News |title=Pope Francis accepts resignation of Cardinal McCarrick}} In December 2019, McCarrick was sued by a man named John Bellocchio, who said that McCarrick sexually abused him when he was a 14-year-old boy in the 1990s.{{cite web |url=https://www.ncronline.org/news/accountability/ex-cardinal-mccarrick-abused-boy-newark-1990s |title=Ex-Cardinal McCarrick abused boy in Newark in 1990s, lawsuit says |last=Porter |first=David |date=December 2, 2019 |website=National Catholic Reporter |access-date=December 2, 2019}}

{{Main|Carlo Maria Viganò#August 2018 letter}}

On August 25, 2018, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, former Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, released an 11-page letter describing a series of warnings to the Vatican regarding McCarrick. Viganò stated that Gabriel Montalvo, then nuncio to the United States, had informed the Vatican in 2000 of what Viganò characterized as McCarrick's "gravely immoral behaviour with seminarians and priests." He further stated that Archbishop Pietro Sambi, the nuncio from 2005 to 2011, had also informed the Vatican. Viganò says that in 2006 – when working at the Vatican – he wrote his own memo regarding McCarrick. He said nothing was done, however, to stop McCarrick. In 2008, Viganò says he wrote a second memo, including material from Sipe.{{cite news |url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/39227/ex-nuncio-accuses-pope-francis-of-failing-to-act-on-mccarricks-abuse-reports |title=Ex-nuncio accuses Pope Francis of failing to act on McCarrick's abuse reports |last=Pentin |first=Edward |date=August 25, 2018 |publisher=Catholic News Agency |access-date=August 25, 2018}}

In 2009 or 2010, according to Viganò, Pope Benedict XVI placed severe restrictions on McCarrick's movements and public ministry, not allowing him to travel beyond the grounds of the seminary where he was living and not permitting him to say Mass in public. According to Viganò, however, Pope Francis subsequently removed these sanctions and made McCarrick "his trusted counselor", even though Francis "knew from at least June 23, 2013 that McCarrick was a serial predator. He knew that he was a corrupt man, he covered for him to the bitter end." Italian journalists Tornielli and Valente, however, report that "it was in 2007 – not 2009, as Viganò has said – that Pope Benedict XVI issued his 'instructions' to McCarrick." McCarrick responded in a 2008 letter to Vatican Secretary of State, Tarcisio Bertone, writing that he had shared his bed with seminarians. He said that "this was never done in secret or behind closed doors," and that he had never "had sexual relations with anyone, man, woman or child, nor have I ever sought such acts."{{cite web |title=McCarrick correspondence confirms restrictions, speaks to Wuerl and China |url=https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2019/05/28/mccarrick-correspondence-confirms-restrictions-speaks-to-wuerl-and-china/ |website=Crux |date=May 28, 2019 |access-date=May 28, 2019 |archive-date=May 29, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190529171935/https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2019/05/28/mccarrick-correspondence-confirms-restrictions-speaks-to-wuerl-and-china/ }}

Viganò called on Pope Francis and all others who he said covered up McCarrick's conduct to resign. It was observed that during the time McCarrick was allegedly under sanction, he maintained a "robust public presence" full of international travel, public masses, speeches, and the acceptance of awards, although in July 2010, on the occasion of his eightieth birthday, he declined an interview with The Washington Post. The reporter said that the Cardinal seemed to be avoiding the media.{{Cite news |url=https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2018/08/29/mccarrick-kept-robust-public-presence-during-years-he-was-allegedly-sanctioned |title=McCarrick kept a robust public presence during years he was allegedly sanctioned |last=O'Loughlin |first=Michael J. |date=August 29, 2018 |work=America |access-date=August 30, 2018|language=en}} Both Cardinal Marc Ouellet, having been asked to come forward in 2018 by Viganò, and the "2020 Vatican Report on McCarrick" largely confirmed Viganò's statements that the Vatican under Benedict XVI imposed restrictions on McCarrick, although McCarrick proved often unwilling to follow them. The report also found that Viganò actively sought harsh sanctions for McCarrick while working as an official in the Secretariat of State. Both Ouellet and the report, however, disputed Viganò's accusations against Francis, with the report admitting only that Francis heard of rumors about sexual impropriety by McCarrick but believed them to be discredited, and did not hear reports about abuse of minors until 2018.{{cite news|url=http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/seven-notable-points-from-cardinal-ouellets-vigano-letter|title=Seven Notable Points From Cardinal Ouellet's 'Viganò Letter'|newspaper=National Catholic Register|access-date=November 10, 2020}}

Viganò stated that he discussed McCarrick's conduct and the penalties surrounding it with McCarrick's successor as Archbishop of Washington, Cardinal Wuerl, who he says transgressed the Pope's order by allowing McCarrick to continue living at the seminary and therefore putting other seminarians at risk. Wuerl, through his spokesperson, Ed McFadden, denied that he was aware of any restrictions on McCarrick. "Archbishop Viganò presumed that Wuerl had specific information that Wuerl did not have," McFadden said.{{cite web |url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/39228/wuerl-denies-he-was-informed-of-vatican-restrictions-on-mccarrick |title=Wuerl denies he was informed of Vatican restrictions on McCarrick |last=Flynn |first=J.D. |date=August 25, 2018 |agency=Catholic News Agency |access-date=August 26, 2018}} McCarrick's situation reportedly became easier when Nuncio Pietro Sambi died unexpectedly in July 2011 and was succeeded by Viganò, who, according to Tornielli and Valente, proved less eager to enforce Benedict XVI's instructions to McCarrick. Viganò subsequently acknowledged that Pope Benedict had made the restrictions private, perhaps "due to the fact that he (Archbishop McCarrick) was already retired, maybe due to the fact that he (Pope Benedict) was thinking he was ready to obey."{{cite news |last1=Esteves |first1=Junno Arocho |title=Vatican reviewing McCarrick case, vows to pursue truth no matter what |url=https://www.catholicnews.com/services/englishnews/2018/vatican-reviewing-mccarrick-case-vows-to-pursue-truth-no-matter-what.cfm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181006161957/http://www.catholicnews.com/services/englishnews/2018/vatican-reviewing-mccarrick-case-vows-to-pursue-truth-no-matter-what.cfm |archive-date=October 6, 2018 |access-date=May 29, 2019 |agency=Catholic News Service |date=October 6, 2018}}

The McCarrick case, along with the conclusion of the Grand jury investigation of Catholic Church sexual abuse in Pennsylvania, which alleged systematic cover-up of clergy sex abuse by bishops in Pennsylvania over decades, triggered a general call from Catholics across ideological boundaries for greater accountability and transparency in the church. These issues, however, in particular the Viganò allegations, have also escalated tensions in the Catholic Church between ideological liberals and conservatives, especially over the possible role of homosexuality in clergy sex abuse and the alleged complicity of Pope Francis in protecting McCarrick.{{cite web |url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/29/us/cardinal-wuerl-catholic-insurgency/index.html |title=Growing Catholic insurgency threatens top cardinal in Washington |last1=Burke |first1=Daniel |last2=Flores |first2=Rosa |date=August 30, 2018 |website=CNN |access-date=August 30, 2018}}{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/28/opinion/pope-francis-catholic-church-resign.html |title=What Did Pope Francis Know? |last=Douthat |first=Ross |author-link=Ross Douthat |date=August 28, 2018 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=August 30, 2018}}{{cite news |title=A Catholic Civil War? |last=Schmitz |first=Matthew |date=August 27, 2018 |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/27/opinion/pope-francis-catholic-church-letter.html |access-date=August 27, 2018}}{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/with-call-for-pope-to-resign-divisions-within-the-catholic-church-explode-into-view/2018/08/27/5f6b2476-a9f7-11e8-9a7d-cd30504ff902_story.html |title=With call for pope to resign, divisions within the Catholic Church explode into view |last=Harlan |first=Chico |date=August 27, 2018 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=May 31, 2019}}{{cite journal |last1=Carroll |first1=James |title=Abolish the Priesthood |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/06/to-save-the-church-dismantle-the-priesthood/588073/ |journal=The Atlantic |date=May 17, 2019 |access-date=May 31, 2019}}

On May 28, 2019, McCarrick's private secretary, Anthony J. Figueiredo, released letters written by McCarrick suggesting that while senior Vatican officials placed restrictions on the former Cardinal after abuse allegations surfaced, they were not official sanctions and were not strictly enforced under the papacies of either Pope Benedict XVI or Pope Francis.{{Cite web | url = https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cardinal-theodore-edgar-mccarrick-vatican-restrictions-anthony-figueiredo-letters-report-2019-05-28/ | title = Letters suggest lax enforcement of restrictions on disgraced D.C. ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick | first1 = Anna | last1 = Matranga | first2 = Seth | last2 = Doane | date = May 29, 2019 | website = CBS News | access-date = June 11, 2019}}{{cite web | url = https://www.catholicnews.com/services/englishnews/2019/former-secretary-says-officials-knew-mccarrick-s-ministry-was-restricted.cfm | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190528205910/https://www.catholicnews.com/services/englishnews/2019/former-secretary-says-officials-knew-mccarrick-s-ministry-was-restricted.cfm | archive-date = May 28, 2019 | title = Former secretary says officials knew McCarrick's ministry was restricted | first = Cindy | last = Wooden | date = May 28, 2019 | agency = Catholic News Service | access-date = June 11, 2019}}{{Cite web | url = https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2019/05/28/mccarrick-correspondence-confirms-restrictions-speaks-to-wuerl-and-china/ | title = McCarrick correspondence confirms restrictions, speaks to Wuerl and China | date = May 28, 2019 | work = Crux | access-date = May 28, 2019 | via = cruxnow.com | archive-date = May 29, 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190529171935/https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2019/05/28/mccarrick-correspondence-confirms-restrictions-speaks-to-wuerl-and-china/ }} In an interview published on May 28, 2019, Francis directly addressed the accusations made in Viganò's letter for the first time. He stated that he "knew nothing" about McCarrick's conduct.{{cite web | url = https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2019/05/28/in-new-interview-pope-francis-says-he-knew-nothing-about-mccarrick/ | title = In new interview, Pope Francis says he 'knew nothing' about McCarrick | last = San Martín | first = Inés | date = May 28, 2019 | work = Crux | access-date = May 28, 2019 | archive-date = May 29, 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190529171937/https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2019/05/28/in-new-interview-pope-francis-says-he-knew-nothing-about-mccarrick/ }} McCarrick claimed to have discussed restrictions that were placed on him with Wuerl, but Wuerl denied that he had any knowledge of such restrictions.{{cite web |url=https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2019/05/28/mccarrick-correspondence-confirms-restrictions-speaks-to-wuerl-and-china/ |title=McCarrick correspondence confirms restrictions, speaks to Wuerl and China |date=May 28, 2019 |website=Crux |access-date=May 28, 2019 |archive-date=May 29, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190529171935/https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2019/05/28/mccarrick-correspondence-confirms-restrictions-speaks-to-wuerl-and-china/ }}

On September 28, 2018, it was announced that McCarrick had moved to the Capuchin St. Fidelis Friary in Victoria, Kansas, the day before.{{cite news |title=Former Washington Cardinal McCarrick now living in rural Kansas friary |date=September 28, 2018 |first=Rhina |last=Guidos |url=https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2018/09/28/former-washington-cardinal-mccarrick-now-living-in-rural-kansas-friary/ |newspaper=Crux |access-date=September 28, 2018 |archive-date=September 29, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180929041227/https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2018/09/28/former-washington-cardinal-mccarrick-now-living-in-rural-kansas-friary/ }}{{cite web |url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/39511/archbishop-mccarrick-to-lead-life-of-prayer-penance-at-kansas-friary |title=Archbishop McCarrick to lead life of prayer, penance at Kansas friary |last=Rousselle |first=Christine |date=September 28, 2018 |publisher=Catholic News Agency |access-date=October 2, 2018}}{{cite magazine |last=Graham |first=Ruth |title=Theodore McCarrick Still Won't Confess |url=https://slate.com/human-interest/2019/09/theodore-mccarrick-archbishop-interview-kansas-sexual-abuse.html |access-date=September 3, 2019 |magazine=Slate |date=September 3, 2019}} The announcement was unpopular with many of the citizens of Victoria, especially because the friary is near an elementary school. Before McCarrick was laicized, the Archdiocese of Washington was paying a little over $500 a month for his lodging. After he was laicized, the archdiocese stopped the payments, and the friary stated that it would not be receiving remuneration from McCarrick or the local Roman Catholic Diocese of Salina for McCarrick's stay, even though McCarrick offered to pay.

On February 16, 2019, the Holy See Press Office announced that McCarrick had been laicized. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), in a church penal process, found McCarrick guilty of "solicitation in the Sacrament of Confession, and sins against the Sixth Commandment with minors and with adults, with the aggravating factor of the abuse of power". The guilty verdict was issued by the CDF on January 11, 2019, and McCarrick appealed. The CDF rejected the appeal on February 13 and McCarrick was notified on February 15.[http://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2019/02/16/0133/00272.html#en Communiqué of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, 16 February 2019] Holy See Press Office Pope Francis "recognized the definitive nature of this decision made in accord with law, rendering it a res iudicata (i.e., admitting of no further recourse)",{{cite news |url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/40583/mccarrick-laicized-by-pope-francis |last=Brockhaus |first=Hannah |title= McCarrick laicized by Pope Francis |agency=Catholic News Agency |date=February 16, 2019 |access-date=February 16, 2019}} meaning it was final and McCarrick had no further opportunity to appeal. The CDF used an expedited administrative process designed for cases in which evidence is overwhelming. McCarrick's ordination as a priest and Consecration as a bishop could not be undone according to sacramental theology, but McCarrick could not licitly (lawfully) perform any priestly duties, including celebrating Mass, although he could administer the sacrament of Penance to a penitent in danger of death; McCarrick could be stripped of the right to financial support from the church;{{cite web|first=Edward|last=Pentin|date=February 16, 2019|url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/40583/mccarrick-laicized-by-pope-francis|title=McCarrick laicized by Pope Francis|agency=Catholic News Agency}} and his laicization was permanent.{{cite news|first=Michelle|last=Boorstein|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2019/02/16/theodore-mccarrick-was-just-defrocked-by-vatican-is-it-justice/#|title='What difference does it make to McCarrick?' Critics question the value of defrocking|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=February 16, 2019}}{{cite web|first=Edward|last=Pentin|url=http://www.ncregister.com/blog/edward-pentin/archbishop-mccarrick-dismissed-from-the-clerical-state|title=Theodore McCarrick Dismissed From the Clerical State|website=National Catholic Register|date=February 16, 2019}} McCarrick was the most senior church official in modern times to be laicized.

In an interview with Slate published in September 2019, McCarrick stated, "I'm not as bad as they paint me. ... I do not believe that I did the things that they accused me of." McCarrick stated he believed the persons making accusations against him were "encouraged to do that" by his "enemies", and said repeatedly that many young men had come to the beach house without having any problems. McCarrick revealed that he never left the friary and participated in the daily routine of the other men who lived there. In January 2020, it was announced that McCarrick had moved out of the friary to an undisclosed location that was "secluded and away from public attention". McCarrick reportedly made the decision to move over concerns that media attention regarding his presence there might have a negative impact on the friary and because he wanted to be closer to his family.{{cite web |url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/43217/theodore-mccarrick-has-moved-from-kansas-friary |title=Theodore McCarrick has moved from Kansas friary |last1=Flynn |first1=J.D. |last2=Condon |first2=Ed |date=January 7, 2020 |agency=Catholic News Agency |access-date=January 7, 2020}}

On September 5, 2019, it was revealed that an investigation conducted by Seton Hall University found that McCarrick's acts of sexual abuse against seminarians at the university were classified as a Title IX offense.{{Cite web| url=https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2019/09/05/seton-hall-investigation-finds-mccarrick-harassed-seminarians/| title=Seton Hall investigation finds McCarrick harassed seminarians| date=September 5, 2019| access-date=September 5, 2019| archive-date=September 5, 2019| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190905193443/https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2019/09/05/seton-hall-investigation-finds-mccarrick-harassed-seminarians/}} Incidents of sex abuse McCarrick committed at both Immaculate Conception Seminary and St. Andrew's Seminary were not reported to the university because at the time, they were not compliant with Title IX. The report, which was reviewed by the law firm of Latham & Watkins, also accused McCarrick of creating a "culture of fear and intimidation" at Seton Hall University when he led the university as Archbishop of Newark.{{Cite web|url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/42173/mccarrick-created-culture-of-fear-and-intimidation-seton-hall-review-finds|title=McCarrick created 'culture of fear and intimidation,' Seton Hall review finds|website=Catholic News Agency|date=September 4, 2019}} On August 10, 2020, however, it was revealed that a seminary professor did report in the late 1980s that McCarrick was taking seminary students to his shore house and that this allegation was disregarded by the Catholic Church.[https://www.northjersey.com/restricted/?return=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.northjersey.com%2Fstory%2Fnews%2Fnew-jersey%2F2020%2F08%2F10%2Ftheodore-mccarrick-kept-getting-promoted-even-through-catholic-church-sex-abuse-allegations%2F5579049002%2F NorthJersey.com]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200929110153/https://www.northjersey.com/restricted/?return=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.northjersey.com%2Fstory%2Fnews%2Fnew-jersey%2F2020%2F08%2F10%2Ftheodore-mccarrick-kept-getting-promoted-even-through-catholic-church-sex-abuse-allegations%2F5579049002%2F |date=September 29, 2020 }}

On November 10, 2020, the Vatican released a report about the handling of allegations against McCarrick.{{cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/resources/resources_rapporto-card-mccarrick_20201110_en.pdf |title=Report on the Holy See's Institutional Knowledge and Decision-Making related to former cardinal Theodore Edgar McCarrick (1930 to 2017) |website=vatican.va |date=November 10, 2020}}Pentin, Edward, [https://www.ncregister.com/news/the-mccarrick-report-full-text-and-a-vatican-summary "The McCarrick Report: Full Text and a Vatican Summary"], National Catholic Register, November 10, 2020. Retrieved February 16, 2025. It states that through an October 1999 letter from Cardinal O'Connor, Pope John Paul II learned of allegations of sexual deviancy against McCarrick while in the process of considering him for the position of Archbishop of Washington, but that an investigation was paused after three of the four bishops tasked with looking into the accusations provided "inaccurate and incomplete information." John Paul II then decided not to appoint him, but changed his mind after receiving a letter from McCarrick proclaiming his innocence. The report suggested that John Paul II was probably influenced by his experience in his native Poland where the communist government used "spurious allegations against bishops to degrade the standing of the Church". The report states that Benedict XVI asked for McCarrick's resignation as Archbishop of Washington in 2005, after learning about the 1994 letter to Hughes. The Vatican Office for Bishops ordered McCarrick to retire to private life verbally in 2006, and put it in writing in 2008, but both times he ignored their instructions. Benedict was also faulted in the report, however, for not standing in the way of McCarrick's growing power. According to the report, Pope Francis, prior to becoming pope, had learned of allegations against McCarrick before McCarrick was named Archbishop of Washington, but believed that John Paul II had rejected them. Francis knew of rumors surrounding sexual conduct between McCarrick and adults but received no documentation of sexual impropriety against McCarrick until 2017, and was not aware of accusations of sexual abuse against minors until 2018.{{cite web |url=https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/local/dc/findings-in-vatican-report-into-ex-cardinal-mccarrick/65-f3a47d57-95f4-4368-9945-a7ac909c5a02 |title=Key findings in Vatican report into ex-Cardinal McCarrick |date=November 10, 2020 |publisher=Associated Press |access-date=November 10, 2020}}{{cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/popes-knew-allegations-against-ex-cardinal-mccarrick-years-ago-report-n1247225|title=Popes knew of allegations against ex-Cardinal McCarrick years ago, report finds|work=NBC News|date=November 10, 2020|access-date=November 10, 2020}}{{cite web |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/10/europe/cardinal-theodore-mccarrick-vatican-report-intl/index.html |title=Vatican admits Pope John Paul II was warned about abusive archbishop Theodore McCarrick, while clearing Francis |last1=Gallagher |first1=Delia |last2=Greene |first2=Richard |last3=Messia |first3=Hada |last4=Picheta |first4=Rob |date=November 10, 2020 |publisher=CNN |access-date=November 10, 2020}}{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/10/successive-popes-and-vatican-staff-promoted-priest-despite-abuse-claims|title=Vatican report faults successive popes over defrocked cardinal Theodore McCarrick|first=Harriet|last=Sherwood|work=The Guardian|date=November 10, 2020|access-date=November 10, 2020}}

In 2005, the Archdiocese of Newark and the Dioceses of Trenton and Metuchen paid a total of $80,000 to a former priest, who stated that McCarrick would touch him in bed, but only above the waist, and that they never kissed. The Diocese of Metuchen's contribution was not in reference to McCarrick, but to an allegation regarding previous conduct of a teacher at a high school located at that time in the diocese.{{cite news |title=What New Jersey bishops, now retired, knew about McCarrick settlements |last=Pattison |first=Mark |date=August 24, 2018 |newspaper=Crux |url=https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2018/08/24/what-new-jersey-bishops-now-retired-knew-about-mccarrick-settlements/ |access-date=August 24, 2018 |archive-date=August 24, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180824214016/https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2018/08/24/what-new-jersey-bishops-now-retired-knew-about-mccarrick-settlements/ }}

Between 2005 and 2007, the Diocese of Metuchen and the Archdiocese of Newark paid financial settlements to two priests who had accused McCarrick of abuse. These settlements totalled $180,000.{{cite news |last1=Heyboer |first1=Kelly |last2=Sherman |first2=Ted |title=Here's how much N.J. Catholic dioceses paid to alleged McCarrick sex abuse victims, report says |work=NJ.com |date=July 17, 2018 |url=https://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2018/07/nj_catholic_dioceses_paid_at_least_180k_to_alleged.html |access-date=August 17, 2018}} In 2006, $100,000 was paid by the Diocese of Metuchen, where McCarrick had been bishop from 1981 to 1986. The payments were authorized by Bishop Paul G. Bootkoski, who also reported the offenses to law enforcement. According to Donald Cardinal Wuerl, McCarrick's successor as Archbishop of Washington, nobody from these dioceses informed him of these settlements, even after the retired McCarrick began living on the grounds of a seminary in the Archdiocese of Washington.{{cite news |title=What might happen for McCarrick, and for the Church in the US |last=Flynn |first=JD |url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/39016/what-might-happen-for-mccarrick-and-for-the-church-in-the-us |date=July 31, 2018 |publisher=Catholic News Agency |access-date=July 31, 2018}} In 2010, Sipe published excerpts from the 2005 and 2007 settlement documents.{{cite web |url=http://www.awrsipe.com/Comments/2008-04-21-McCarrick_Syndrome.html |title= The Cardinal McCarrick Syndrome |date=May 12, 2010 |access-date=June 25, 2018| website=Richard Sipe: Priests, Celibacy, and Sexuality}}

Between 2001 and 2006, McCarrick gave $600,000 to high-ranking church officials, including two popes, multiple priests, cardinals, and archbishops, when he was Archbishop of Washington.{{cite web |url=http://newjersey.news12.com/story/41500449/washington-post-former-newark-archbishop-accused-of-abuse-gave-more-than-dollar600k-to-fellow-clerics |title=Washington Post: Former Newark archbishop accused of abuse gave more than $600K to fellow clerics |date=December 27, 2019 |access-date=December 31, 2019}} According to The Washington Post, "Several of the more than 100 recipients were directly involved in assessing misconduct claims against McCarrick".{{cite web |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/disgraced-former-cardinal-mccarrick-gave-more-than-600000-in-church-funds-to-powerful-clerics-records-show/2019/12/26/ac2b99ba-1c3a-11ea-9ddd-3e0321c180e7_story.html |title=Ousted cardinal McCarrick gave more than $600,000 to fellow clerics, including two popes, records show |last1=Boburg |first1=Shawn |last2=O Harrow |first2=Robert Jr. |last3=Harlan |first3=Chico |date=December 26, 2019 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=December 31, 2019}} Some of those recipients, however, including both Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, had little oversight over these transactions.{{Cite web | first=Rhina |last=Guidos | date=December 28, 2019 | url=https://catholic-sf.org/news/report-says-mccarrick-fund-gave-more-than-600-000-to-clerics-two-pope | title=Report says McCarrick fund gave more than $600,000 to clerics, two popes | website= Catholic San Francisco | access-date=December 28, 2019 | archive-date=December 28, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191228164351/https://catholic-sf.org/news/report-says-mccarrick-fund-gave-more-than-600-000-to-clerics-two-pope }}

In August 2019, one of McCarrick's alleged victims, James Grein, filed a lawsuit against McCarrick and the Archdiocese of New York.{{Cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/15/nyregion/child-sex-abuse-lawsuits.html |title = Hundreds of Child Sexual Abuse Lawsuits Flood N.Y. Courts|newspaper = The New York Times|date = August 15, 2019|last1 = Otterman|first1 = Sharon}}{{Cite news|last=Avila|first=Joseph De|date=December 5, 2019|title=Former Cardinal McCarrick Sued for Sex Abuse|language=en-US|work=Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/former-cardinal-mccarrick-sued-for-sex-abuse-11575581604|access-date=June 23, 2020|issn=0099-9660}} In December 2019, Grein extended his lawsuit to the New Jersey-based Archdiocese of Newark and Diocese of Metuchen, claiming that the two dioceses committed gross negligence when they allowed McCarrick, who Grein stated was a friend of his family, to continue to visit and sexually abuse him.{{Cite web | url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/43018/new-mccarrick-lawsuits-brought-as-new-jersey-litigation-window-opens | title=New McCarrick lawsuits brought as New Jersey litigation window opens}} That same month, a new law went into effect throughout New Jersey which allowed more sex victims to file lawsuits. This resulted in more of McCarrick's alleged New Jersey victims filing lawsuits against McCarrick and the two dioceses he served in that state.{{Cite web | url=https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2019/12/03/New-Jersey-man-accuses-former-Cardinal-McCarrick-of-abuse-in-lawsuit/6791575411641/ | title=New Jersey man accuses former Cardinal McCarrick of abuse in lawsuit}}{{Cite web| url=https://wcbs880.radio.com/articles/news/lawsuit-disgraced-cardinal-abused-boy-in-newark-in-1990s| title=Lawsuit: Disgraced Cardinal McCarrick Abused Boy in Newark in 1990s| date=December 9, 2019| access-date=December 9, 2019| archive-date=August 12, 2020| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812095607/https://wcbs880.radio.com/articles/news/lawsuit-disgraced-cardinal-abused-boy-in-newark-in-1990s}} One of these cases was also reported to be the first sex abuse lawsuit brought against the Holy See, which was accused of receiving reports of sex abuse committed by McCarrick in 1988 and 1995.

In February 2020, America magazine revealed that the Diocese of Metuchen, the Archdiocese of Newark, and Diocese of Trenton had, beginning in 2005, worked together to secretly pay victims of McCarrick. Former substitute for general affairs at the Vatican Secretariat of State, Leonardo Sandri, who received the letter of concern from Ramsey in 2000, was suspected of participating in the cover-up of McCarrick's acts, and America journalist Thomas J. Reese recommended that he and others be interviewed as part of the Vatican's investigation into the former cardinal.

A lawsuit was filed on July 21, 2020, by an anonymous person saying that McCarrick operated a sex ring out of his New Jersey beachouse. The alleged victim maintained that McCarrick abused him with the assistance of other priests beginning in 1982, when he was 14. The lawsuit stated that boys were assigned different rooms in the house and paired with adult clergymen.{{cite news |url=https://nypost.com/2020/07/23/ex-cardinal-ran-sex-ring-from-new-jersey-beach-house-lawsuit/ |title=Ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick accused of running sex ring from NJ beach house |last=Eustachewich |first=Lia |date=July 23, 2020 |newspaper=The New York Post |access-date=July 23, 2020}} The alleged victim, who attended schools operated by the Archdiocese of Newark, alleged priests and others under the control of McCarrick engaged in "open and obvious criminal sexual conduct" that was kept cloaked by the church and also served as "procurers" for McCarrick.{{cite news |url=https://www.nj.com/crime/2020/07/former-cardinal-mccarrick-accused-of-participating-in-beach-house-sex-ring-lawyers-allege.html |title=Former Cardinal McCarrick accused of participating in beach house 'sex ring,' lawyers allege |website=NJ.com |date=July 23, 2020 |access-date=July 23, 2020}} The Archidocese of Newark, Diocese of Metuchen, where McCarrick was serving as bishop of at time of the alleged abuse, and the Catholic schools the alleged victim attended where named as defendants in the lawsuit as well. On September 9, 2020, a new lawsuit was filed which alleged that McCarrick kept a second beach house which he also used as a sex ring when he was Bishop of Metuchen. It was also revealed that the Archdiocese of Newark had purchased one of McCarrick's Diocese of Metuchen beach houses in 1997, when he was serving as archbishop, just four months before selling the other beach house, which it also purchased from the Diocese of Metuchen, as well.{{cite news|url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/45763/newark-archdiocese-bought-second-beach-house-for-use-by-mccarrick|title=Newark archdiocese bought second beach house for use by McCarrick|agency=Catholic News Agency|date=September 9, 2020|access-date=October 15, 2020}}

On November 19, 2020, four people who accused McCarrick of sexually abusing them filed a lawsuit against the Holy See in federal court in Newark, New Jersey, saying it had failed in its oversight of McCarrick over whom it exercised complete control as his employer. The Holy See says priests are not its employees and that its status as a foreign sovereign is a defense from such a suit.{{cite news|url=https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2020-11-19/alleging-sex-abuse-4-sue-vatican-over-handling-of-mccarrick|title=Alleging Sex Abuse, 4 Sue Vatican Over Handling of McCarrick| first=David | last=Porter | agency = Associated Press|website=U.S. News & World Report|date=November 19, 2020|access-date=December 16, 2020}}{{cite news|url=https://www.law.com/njlawjournal/2020/11/19/the-vatican-itself-is-now-defendant-in-suit-by-us-plaintiff-alleging-sexual-abuse/ | title=The Vatican Itself Is Now Defendant in Suit by US Plaintiffs Alleging Sexual Abuse|first=Charles|last=Toutant|website=Law.com|date=November 19, 2020|access-date=December 14, 2020}} In November 2021, a new lawsuit was filed against both McCarrick and the Archdiocese of Newark by Michael Reading, an ordained priest who claimed McCarrick sexually abused him during a visit to the New Jersey shore in 1986.{{cite news|url=https://apnews.com/article/religion-lawsuits-new-jersey-sexual-abuse-by-clergy-sexual-abuse-08a4ce76b3d2dd7185146ddc6cbfcd3c|title=Defrocked Cardinal McCarrick named in sex abuse lawsuit|first=David|last=Porter|work=Associated Press News|date=November 23, 2022|access-date=May 28, 2022}} The alleged abuse occurred around the same time McCarrick ordained Reading as a priest.

On July 29, 2021, McCarrick was charged with sexually assaulting a 16-year-old male in 1974, during a wedding reception for the boy's brother on the grounds of Wellesley College in Massachusetts. The complaint was filed by Wellesley Police in Dedham District Court.{{Cite news |title=Defrocked cardinal Theodore McCarrick charged with sexually assaulting teenager in 1970s |last=Murphy |first=Shelley |newspaper=The Boston Globe |date=July 29, 2021 |url= https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/07/29/metro/defrocked-cardinal-theodore-mccarrick-charged-with-sexually-assaulting-teenager-1970s/}} On September 3, 2021, McCarrick pleaded not guilty in Dedham District Court to three counts of indecent assault and battery stemming from the alleged 1974 incident.{{cite news |title=US ex-Cardinal McCarrick pleads not guilty to sexual assault |url=https://www.dw.com/en/us-ex-cardinal-mccarrick-pleads-not-guilty-to-sexual-assault/a-59078937 |access-date=September 3, 2021 |work=Deutsche Welle |date=September 3, 2021}}

In an early 2023 court filing, McCarrick's lawyers stated that he had experienced "significant" and "rapidly worsening" cognitive decline, and was thus not fit to stand trial.{{Cite web |first=Joe|last=Bakuras|title=BREAKING: McCarrick's Lawyers Say He's Not Competent to Stand Trial |url=https://www.ncregister.com/cna/breaking-mccarrick-s-lawyers-say-he-s-not-competent-to-stand-trial |access-date=January 23, 2023 |website=National Catholic Register |date=January 18, 2023 |language=en}} In June of that year, a state-appointed forensic psychologist found "deficits of his memory and ability to retain information", and on August 30 the court ruled that McCarrick was mentally incompetent to stand trial.{{cite news|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/30/us/cardinal-mccarrick-sexual-abuse-trial.html|title = Former Cardinal McCarrick Found Unfit for Trial Over Sexual Abuse|last = Graham|first = Ruth|date = August 30, 2023|access-date = August 30, 2023|url-access = limited|newspaper = The New York Times}}

On April 16, 2023, McCarrick was charged with one count of fourth-degree sexual assault for an April 1977 incident that occurred near Geneva Lake in Wisconsin. McCarrick allegedly abused the victim over a period of time, including at the Geneva Lake residence where he fondled the victim's genitals.{{Cite web |title=Former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick Charged with 4th Degree Sexual Assault Following Report to Clergy and Faith Leader Abuse Initiative |publisher=Wisconsin Department of Justice |url=https://www.doj.state.wi.us/sites/default/files/news-media/4.17.23_McCarrick_0.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417183056/https://www.doj.state.wi.us/sites/default/files/news-media/4.17.23_McCarrick_0.pdf |archive-date=April 17, 2023 |access-date=April 17, 2023}}{{Cite news |date=April 17, 2023 |title=McCarrick charged with sexually assaulting teen in Wisconsin, amid controversial AG probe |url=https://www.pillarcatholic.com/p/mccarrick-charged-with-sexually-assaulting |access-date=April 18, 2023 |website=The Pillar/ |language=en}}

Following McCarrick's death, Catholic officials offered condolences for his victims, acknowledging that justice was never served for McCarrick's actions.{{cite news|url=https://www.ncregister.com/news/caldwell-mccarrick-death-reaction|title=McCarrick Dies at 94; Sex Abuse Survivors Say Justice Was Never Served|first=Zelda|last=Caldwell|publisher=Catholic National Reporter|date=April 4, 2025|access-date=April 5, 2025}}

On July 27, 2018, McCarrick was ordered by Pope Francis to observe "a life of prayer and penance in seclusion", and the Pope accepted his resignation from the College of Cardinals.{{cite web|url=https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2018/07/28/0548/01187.html|title=Comunicato della Sala Stampa della Santa Sede|publisher=Holy See Press Office|date=July 28, 2018|access-date=July 28, 2018}}{{cite news |first=Michael R. |last=Sisak |title=Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, former archbishop, removed from ministry after sex abuse reports |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-cardinal-theodore-mccarrick-sex-abuse-20180620-story.html |access-date=July 29, 2018 |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |agency=Associated Press |date=June 20, 2018 }}{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/ex-cardinal-mccarrick-defrocked-by-vatican-for-sexual-abuse/2019/02/16/0aa365d4-2e2c-11e9-8ad3-9a5b113ecd3c_story.html |title=Ex-cardinal McCarrick defrocked by Vatican for sexual abuse |last=Harlan |first=Chico |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=February 16, 2019 |access-date=February 16, 2019}} The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), in a church penal process, found McCarrick guilty of "solicitation in the Sacrament of Confession, and sins against the Sixth Commandment with minors and with adults, with the aggravating factor of the abuse of power".

After his suspension, McCarrick moved to St. Fidelis Friary in Victoria, Kansas. A journalist spoke with McCarrick there in August 2019, and McCarrick maintained his innocence, saying "I do not believe that I did the things that they accused me of."{{cite web |last1=Graham |first1=Ruth |title=Theodore McCarrick Still Won't Confess |url=https://slate.com/human-interest/2019/09/theodore-mccarrick-archbishop-interview-kansas-sexual-abuse.html |website=Slate |date=September 3, 2019}} In early 2020, McCarrick left the friary of his own accord, reportedly because his presence had become a strain on the Franciscan community hosting him. He relocated to the Vianney Renewal Center in Dittmer, Missouri.{{cite web |last1=Condon |first1=Ed |title=Theodore McCarrick has moved from Kansas friary |url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/43217/theodore-mccarrick-has-moved-from-kansas-friary |website=Catholic News Agency |language=en}}{{cite web |last1=The Pillar |date=July 29, 2021 |title=McCarrick criminally charged for abuse. Here's what you need to know |url=https://www.pillarcatholic.com/p/mccarrick-criminally-charged-for |access-date=April 5, 2025 |website=The Pillar |language=en}}

In 2023, a Massachusetts court found McCarrick not competent to stand trial for sexual abuse because "his progressive and irreparable cognitive deficits render him unable to meaningfully consult with counsel or to effectively assist in his own defense."[https://www.cbsnews.com/news/theodore-mccarrick-ex-cardinal-92-not-competent-sex-abuse-trial-expert-says/ Ex-cardinal Theodore McCarrick, now 92, not competent to stand trial in sex abuse case, expert says][Ex-cardinal Theodore McCarrick, now 92, not competent to stand trial in sex abuse case, expert says Judge rules former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick is not competent to stand trial in sex abuse case, dismisses charges] In 2024, it was reported that McCarrick had dementia, which resulted in a criminal case against him in Wisconsin being suspended.{{cite news |last=Payne |first=Daniel |date=December 30, 2024 |title=Judge says Wisconsin trial against McCarrick will remain suspended until his death |url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/261297/judge-says-wisconsin-trial-against-mccarrick-will-remain-suspended-until-his-death |access-date=April 5, 2025 |publisher=Catholic News Agency}} McCarrick died on April 3, 2025, at the age of 94 at a nursing facility in Missouri, where he had moved shortly before his death.{{cite web |last1=Grimaldi |first1=James V. |title=Disgraced former Cardinal McCarrick dies at 94 |url=https://www.ncronline.org/news/disgraced-former-cardinal-mccarrick-dies-94 |website=National Catholic Reporter |language=en}}

McCarrick was awarded at least 35 honorary degrees.{{cite web |title=The Catholic University of America—The 24th American Cardinals Dinner: Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick |url=http://publicaffairs.cua.edu/res/docs/Handout2013.pdf |publisher=Catholic University of America |access-date=January 22, 2019 |page=6|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190119121509/http://publicaffairs.cua.edu/res/docs/Handout2013.pdf|archive-date=January 19, 2019}} Many of these degrees were revoked or are under consideration for revocation.{{Cite news |url=https://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2018/08/how_former_cardinal_mccarricks_legacy_is_being_dis.html |title=How former Cardinal McCarrick's legacy is being dismantled, award by award |last=Heyboer |first=Kelly |date=August 1, 2018 |work=NJ.com |access-date=August 16, 2018 |language=en-US}}{{cite news |last1= |title=Notre Dame rescinds McCarrick's honorary degree |url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/40605/notre-dame-rescinds-mccarricks-honorary-degree |access-date=February 22, 2019 |agency=Catholic News Agency |date=February 19, 2019 |language=en}}

{{Incomplete list|date=August 2018}}

• Hans Hermann Groër

{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

{{Commons category}}

• {{cite web|access-date=November 24, 2017|title=McCarrick Card. Theodore Edgar|publisher=Holy See Press Office|url=https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/documentation/cardinali_biografie/cardinali_bio_mccarrick_te.html|archive-date=September 4, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170904064317/http://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/documentation/cardinali_biografie/cardinali_bio_mccarrick_te.html}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20050411181109/http://www.adw.org/about/lead_bio_mccarrick.asp Biography] from the Washington Archdiocese website.
• [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/18/AR2006061800735.html "Retiring Archbishop Gives Farewell Homily"]. The Washington Post, June 19, 2006, by Candace Rondeaux.
• {{C-SPAN|87389}}

{{S-start}}

{{s-rel|ca}}

{{s-bef|before=James Aloysius Hickey}}

{{s-ttl|title=Archbishop of Washington|years=November 21, 2000 – May 16, 2006}}

{{s-aft|after=Donald Wuerl}}

{{s-bef|before=Peter Leo Gerety}}

{{s-ttl|title=Archbishop of Newark|years=May 30, 1986 – November 21, 2000}}

{{s-aft|rows=2|after=John J. Myers}}

{{s-bef|before=Lawrence Aloysius Burke}}

{{s-ttl|title=Ecclesiastical Superior of Turks and Caicos|years=October 17, 1998 – November 21, 2000}}

{{s-new|reason=First Bishop}}

{{s-ttl|title=Bishop of Metuchen|years=November 19, 1981 – May 30, 1986}}

{{s-aft|after=Edward Thomas Hughes}}

{{s-bef|before={{Interlanguage link|Léon Théobald Delaere|fr|Léon Delaere|nobold=y}}}}

{{s-tul|title=Titular Bishop of Rusibisir|years=June 29, 1977 – November 19, 1981}}

{{s-aft|after=Ivan Dias}}

{{s-bef|before=Bernardino Echeverría Ruiz}}

{{s-ttl|title=Cardinal-Priest of Santi Nereo e Achilleo|years=February 21, 2001 – July 28, 2018}}

{{s-aft|after=Celestino Aós Braco}}

{{S-end}}

{{Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington}}

{{Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark}}

{{Roman Catholic Diocese of Metuchen}}

{{Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York}}

{{Catholic Church sexual abuse cases}}

{{Portal bar|Biography|Catholicism|Christianity|Washington, D.C.|United States}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCarrick, Theodore}}

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