First time in the history of the Catholic Church: the pope will expel an old cardinal of the priesthood – 02/13/2019

According to Vatican sources, Pope Francis reportedly published will expel the former American Cardinal Theodore McCarrick this Wednesday from the priesthood, having confirmed that the information accusing him of badual abuse of minors, as published the reporter Jesus Pretty in The newspaper of Spain, The penalty, called "Reduction to the lay state", it's the most serious for a clergyman, and it is only surmountable by excommunication.

The measurement is taken just one week before the start the anti-pedophile summit convened by Francis at the Vatican and in which the presidents of episcopal conferences around the world will meet to try to give a firm and uniform response, before the scandals of abuse against minors and concealment of the Catholic Church in five continents .

The Pope's decision comes after the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has concluded its investigation, considering the culprit already former cardinal (Francisco had dispossessed him last July) of have abused a 16 year old. Similarly, McCarrick, former Cardinal and Archbishop Emeritus of Washington, is accused of badually abusing three minors and several seminarians and young priests.

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During the trial, the 88-year-old former cardinal lived in a cell of a Kansas monastery, leading a life of retirement, prayer and penance. as commissioned by Francisco.

Once the sentence is confirmed, McCarrick he can not administer the sacraments, introduce himself or dress himself as a priest, nor receive financial allowance from any ecclesiastical institution. The McCarrick case was used by ultra-conservative sectors last August to suggest that Francisco was aware of the crimes of the former cardinal and that he had done nothing.

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The charge was brought by the former nuncio of the United States, Carlo Maria Viganò, who wrote an open letter accusing the pope of not acting and demanding his resignation. Thereafter, it was found that all the accusations of Viganò were false. In fact, John Paul II and Benedict XVI could have acted against the former cardinal (the abuses date back several decades), but the only one who acted in this case was Francisco.

Last July, McCarrick, he became the first Catholic prelate for almost 100 years to lose the title of cardinal, and be obliged to refrain from the public prosecutor's office. Now he will become the first cardinal to be expelled from the priesthood as a pedophile.

GML