Pope Defrocks Theodore McCarrick, Ex-Cardinal Accused of Sexual Abuse





By Elizabeth Dias and Jason Horowitz
Feb. 16, 2019

Pope Francis has expelled Theodore E. McCarrick, a former cardinal and archbishop of Washington, from the priesthood, after the church found him guilty of sexually abusing minors and adult seminarians over decades, the Vatican said on Saturday.

The move appears to be the first time any cardinal has been defrocked for sexual abuse — marking a critical moment in the Vatican’s handling of a scandal that has gripped the church for nearly two decades. It is also the first time an American cardinal has been removed from the priesthood.

In a statement on Saturday, the Vatican said Mr. McCarrick had been dismissed after he was tried and found guilty of several crimes, including soliciting sex during confession and “sins” with minors and with adults, “with the aggravating factor of the abuse of power.”

While the Vatican has defrocked hundreds of priests for sexual abuse of minors, few of the church’s leaders have faced severe discipline. The decision to laicize, or defrock, Mr. McCarrick is “almost revolutionary,” said Kurt Martens, a professor of canon law at the Catholic University of America.

“Bishops and former cardinals are no longer immune to punishment,” Professor Martens said. “The reverence that was shown in the past to bishops no longer applies.”

The expulsion of Mr. McCarrick is the most serious sign to date that Pope Francis is addressing the clerical sex abuse crisis, after facing criticism that he has moved too slowly. In October, the pope laicized two retired Chilean bishops accused of sexually abusing minors. In December, he removed two top cardinals from his powerful advisory council after they were implicated in sexual abuse cases.

Since last summer, when allegations against Mr. McCarrick first surfaced, the church has been plunged into a new chapter of the ever-growing scandal. State and federal investigations across the United States are now underway, and each week a new diocese releases names of priests credibly accused of sexual abuse.

[He preyed on young men who wanted to be priests. Then he became a cardinal.]

The announcement’s timing shows that church leaders hope they can move forward from the scandal before the coming week, when the pope and the presidents of bishops’ conferences around the world are meeting at the Vatican to discuss the sexual abuse crisis.

Robert Ciolek, who was abused by Mr. McCarrick in the 1980s, when Mr. Ciolek was a young seminarian and later a priest, said on Saturday that he viewed the defrocking as “as a very positive step.”

Mr. McCarrick, now 88, was accused of sexually abusing three minors and harassing adult seminarians and priests. A New York Times investigation last summer detailed settlements paid to men who had complained of abuse when Mr. McCarrick was a bishop in New Jersey in the 1980s, and revealed that some church leaders had long known of the accusations.

Pope Francis accepted Mr. McCarrick’s resignation from the College of Cardinals in July and suspended him from all priestly duties. He was first removed from ministry in June, after a church panel substantiated a claim that he had abused an altar boy almost 50 years ago.

Mr. McCarrick was long a prominent Catholic voice on international and public policy issues, and a champion for progressive Catholics active in social justice causes.

The Archdiocese of Washington said in its own statement, “Our hope and prayer is that this decision serves to help the healing process for survivors of abuse, as well as those who have experienced disappointment or disillusionment because of what former Archbishop McCarrick has done.”

James Grein, who told The Times that he was 11 when Mr. McCarrick began a sexually abusive relationship with him, said in a statement on Saturday: “For years I have suffered, as many others have, at the hands of Theodore McCarrick. It is with profound sadness that I have had to participate in the canonical trial of my abuser. Nothing can give me back my childhood.”

He added: “With that said, today I am happy that the Pope believed me. I am hopeful now I can pass through my anger for the last time. I hope that Cardinal McCarrick will no longer be able to use the power of Jesus’ Church to manipulate families and sexually abuse children.”


https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/16/us/m ... tican.html

Why does everybody call our Catholic priest "Father" except his own children. They call him uncle.

Sooo prison?

JUDGEDREDD wrote: ↑Mon Feb 25, 2019 1:48 pm Sooo prison?

Suuuuree, seeing how the Church has always done its utmost to prosecute its own.

JUDGEDREDD wrote: ↑Mon Feb 25, 2019 1:48 pm Sooo prison?

Nope. Priests can do what they like without punishment. The church assumes the guvnor will punish them when they are wormfood. Thats why they get away with it.
In the 70's my Catholic friend whent to confession. He told the priest he had fornicated and got 10 hail mary's.
Then he told the priest the girl was asian and the priest gave him some more on the grounds that brown people do not have sould and are animals
On that basis any preist who abuses a non-white child is not guilty - work it out

A head honcho here altho he's appealing..

REVEALED: George Pell, Australia's most senior Catholic cleric, convicted of sexually abusing two boys



George Pell, Australia’s most senior Catholic cleric, has been convicted of sexually assaulting two 13-year-old choirboys in 1996 and 1997 at Melbourne’s St Patrick’s Cathedral, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

Pell was the archbishop of Melbourne at the time and until recently, also one of Pope Francis’ closest advisors. His conviction will send shockwaves through the Catholic Church, which has been trying to deal with the implications and widespread damage of institutional sexual abuse.

The conviction was handed down by the Victorian County Court in December last year but a suppression order prevented media outlets in Australia from reporting his identity until now.

Pell was found guilty of sexual penetration of a child under 16 years old and four counts of an indecent act with or in the presence of a child, according to the ABC.

Pell’s legal team indicated they would appeal the conviction. He will attend a pre-sentence hearing on Wednesday and is expected to be sentenced in the next two weeks.


https://www.businessinsider.com.au/card ... -v2-2019-2