Popes knew of allegations against ex-Cardinal McCarrick years ago, report finds
McCarrick, one of the most prominent figures in the U.S. Catholic Church before his stunning fall from power, was expelled from the priesthood in 2019.
ROME (KYMA, KECY) -
Former Popes Benedict XVI and John Paul II were aware of claims relating to disgraced American Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, whom the Vatican later defrocked after investigating sexual misconduct allegations, but did not halt the powerful cleric's rise through the church, according to a report released on Tuesday.
McCarrick, one of the most prominent figures in the U.S. Catholic Church before his stunning fall from power, was expelled from the priesthood in 2019 after a Vatican investigation.
The lengthy Vatican report outlines how the former popes, as well as senior U.S. Catholic officials, were aware of sexual misconduct allegations, including McCarrick sharing a bed with seminarians at his New Jersey beach house and an unsuccessful attempt to restrict his role in public life in the 1990s.
"At the time of McCarrick's appointment and in part because of the limited nature of the Holy See's own prior investigations, the Holy See never received a complaint directly from a victim, whether adult or minor, about McCarrick's misconduct," the report said. "For this reason, McCarrick's supporters could plausibly characterize the allegations against him as 'gossip' or 'rumors.'"
John Paul II served from 1978 until his death in 2005 and was succeeded by Pope Benedict XVI who retired in 2013.
The allegations against McCarrick, the highest profile Church figure to have been dismissed from the priesthood in modern times, date back decades.
The report, which was commissioned by Pope Francis in 2018 and includes interviews with over 90 witnesses and details incidents and allegations of abuse, took two years to compile.
According to the investigation, Pope Francis was given evidence of McCarrick's misconduct in 2017. Francis has consistently denied knowledge of McCarrick's sexual misconduct.
Tackling sexual abuses that have battered the Catholic Church's reputation has been a major challenge for Francis, with victims demanding a crackdown on bishops accused of concealing or mismanaging cases.
The report "did not examine the issue of McCarrick's culpability ... that question has already been adjudicated," it said, but looked at "institutional knowledge" surrounding his behavior.
A former Archbishop of Washington, D.C., McCarrick was familiar to U.S. political elites.
