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The report on the Vatican’s treatment of the Church’s highest figure to defrock for sexual abuse comes after two years of investigation and years of scrutiny into how McCarrick was allowed to rise in the ranks. hierarchy.
Raised a cardinal in 2001 by John Paul II, a year after he became Archbishop of Washington, McCarrick became a powerful actor both in the Church and in Washington DC, and was known for his fundraising and his affecting.
The Vatican report largely appears to absolve the current Pope, Francis, of all blame.
“Until 2017, no one … provided Pope Francis with any documentation regarding the allegations against McCarrick,” the report’s summary reads.
“Pope Francis had only heard that there had been allegations and rumors related to immoral conduct with adults that arose before McCarrick’s appointment to Washington,” the report says, adding that Francis initially believed ” that the allegations had already been examined and rejected by Pope John Paul II. “
He detailed the allegations against McCarrick at the time Pope John Paul II appointed him Archbishop of Washington, which the report said fell into four categories.
The allegations included a priest who claimed to have seen McCarrick engage in sex with another priest; anonymous letters accusing him of pedophilia; that McCarrick was “known to have shared a bed with young adult men at the bishop’s residence in Metuchen and Newark”; and that he was “known to have shared a bed with adult seminarians at a beach house on the New Jersey shore.”
These alleged incidents concerned McCarrick’s time as Bishop of Metuchen from 1981 to 1986 and as Archbishop of Newark from 1986 to 2000. John Paul II appointed him to both positions and personally made the decision to appoint him Archbishop of Washington, according to the report.
A two-year investigation
Tuesday’s Vatican report does not focus on McCarrick’s alleged abuse or his guilt under canon law, but rather sheds light on what the Holy See knew about him and when.
However, the report points out that “many people who had direct physical contact with McCarrick were interviewed” during the two-year investigation.
“In prolonged, often emotional interviews, people described a range of behaviors, including sexual abuse or assault, unwanted sexual activity, intimate physical contact, and bed sharing without physical contact. These interviews also included detailed accounts related to McCarrick’s abuse of authority and power, ”he said.
The report claims that Pope Benedict XVI called for McCarrick’s resignation in 2005 after “accusations of harassment and abuse of adults resurfaced.”
He adds that the Vatican Bishops’ Office told McCarrick orally in 2006 and in writing in 2008 to step down from public life, but ignored those recommendations.
The report states that Pope Francis was also aware of “rumors of immoral conduct with adults” prior to McCarrick’s appointment to Washington, but decided not to take further steps to change “the course taken by his predecessors”.
When the first charge of child sexual abuse emerged in 2018, Pope Francis’ response was “immediate” according to the report, and he fired the former cardinal from the priesthood.
This is a breaking story and will be updated.
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