Theodore McCarrick, the disgraced former cardinal of Washington, moves into religious housing in Kansas

Theodore McCarrick, the first cardinal in American history to resign because of allegations of sexual abuse, will remain in the church's premises. But he will be far from Washington, where he served as archbishop and friend from 2001 to 2006 and remained a church diplomat long after. The 88-year-old archbishop has moved into a Kansas fraternity, the archdiocese of Washington announced on Friday.

Bishop Gerald Vincke, the head of the diocese of Salina, said he did not know why the convent of his diocese had been chosen to house McCarrick, but he has an idea: "It is very far away," he said by phone Friday. . "When you're at the convent, you feel in the middle of nowhere."

Vincke was less than a month old in his new role as bishop when his secretary told him that Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington was trying to join him. Vincke was in Rome during a training for the newly ordained bishops. He called Wuerl and they talked for several minutes.

Wuerl said that he had already obtained McCarrick's approval to join Rev. Christopher Popravak's convent, which heads the Franciscan community of the Capuchin friars.

Vincke did not ask Wuerl why he had chosen Victoria, in Kan, about 200 miles from Topeka.

The new bishop had mixed feelings about the notion of McCarrick in his diocese. Vincke said he thought that leniency was important, but he also felt angry at McCarrick. "I had to reconcile my resentment and disappointment," he said.

McCarrick was removed from office in June following an allegation that he molested a young altar preparing for a Christmas service almost 50 years ago. After that, another man went on to say that he had been mistreated by McCarrick as a minor. And two New Jersey dioceses led by McCarrick prior to his arrival in Washington revealed that they had started legal proceedings in the 2000s with two men who reported that McCarrick had harassed them as adults and that a third trial had been filed.

[As rumors of sexual misdeeds swirled, Cardinal McCarrick became a powerful fundraiser for the Vatican]

Pope Francis ordered McCarrick to spend his time in prayer and penance until he faced a possible Vatican trial.

"All summer we've been through this clergy abuse scandal, he's kind of on the cutting edge," Vincke said. "If I get mad at anyone about it, it's him. First of all, what he has allegedly done, is one aspect. The second aspect is that people seemed to know and nothing was done, which is really staggering, how it all went. And if people knew, how did he become cardinal? It does not make sense.

This is the question many have asked Wuerl, McCarrick's successor in Washington, and Pope Francis, especially as Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò said last month that Francis was aware of the harassment of young adult seminarians and priests by McCarrick.

Wuerl repeatedly reiterated that he had never heard any allegations against McCarrick before this summer. But faced with new criticisms about his treatment of abuse cases when he was bishop of Pittsburgh since a grand jury in Pennsylvania scrutinized his conduct in that city, Wuerl has engaged to visit Francis soon to discuss his potential resignation.

In a letter published on the website of the diocese of Salina, Vincke acknowledged that some people would be upset by the arrival of McCarrick. He wrote, "Christ has compassion and mercy for all who repent of their sins."

The convent of Victoria is located next to a famous basilica in the area. He is also located near Victoria Elementary School, a public school, but Vincke said that McCarrick would be "very small" when it comes to contact with children.

"I'm waiting for him to stay in the convent," Vincke said. "There is a yard, so he can get some fresh air. But it's a courtyard surrounded by walls.

Vincke said his diocese would not pay McCarrick's bill, but he did not know how this arrangement would be paid.