Pope Francis has accepted the resignation from the College of Cardinals of Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, retired archbishop of Washington. Archbishop McCarrick is pictured in a 2001 photo in Washington.Photo Credits: Brendan McDermid | ReutersVATICAN CITY — Pope Francis has accepted the resignation from
the College of Cardinals of Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, retired
archbishop of Washington, and has ordered him to maintain “a life of
prayer and penance” until a canonical trial examines accusations that he
sexually abused minors.
The announcement came first from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and a few minutes later from the Vatican press office.
The
press office stated July 28 that the previous evening Pope Francis had
received Archbishop McCarrick’s letter of “resignation as a member of
the College of Cardinals.”
“Pope Francis accepted his resignation
from the cardinalate and has ordered his suspension from the exercise of
any public ministry, together with the obligation to remain in a house
yet to be indicated to him, for a life of prayer and penance until the
accusations made against him are examined in a regular canonical trial,”
according to the Vatican statement.
In late June, Archbishop
McCarrick, the 88-year-old retired archbishop of Washington, said he
would no longer exercise any public ministry “in obedience” to the
Vatican after an allegation he abused a teenager 47 years ago in the
Archdiocese of New York was found credible. The cardinal has said he is
innocent.
In the weeks that followed the announcement, another man
came forward claiming he was abused as a child by Archbishop McCarrick;
several former seminarians have spoken out about being sexually
harassed by the cardinal at a beach house he had.
Although rare,
withdrawal from the College of Cardinals in such circumstances isn’t
unheard of. Just 10 days before then-Pope Benedict XVI retired in 2013,
Scottish Cardinal Keith O’Brien announced he wouldn’t participate in the
conclave to elect Pope Benedict’s successor because he didn’t want
media focused on him instead of the election.
A week after the
conclave that elected Pope Francis, the Vatican announced the new pope
accepted Cardinal O’Brien’s decision to renounce all “duties and
privileges” associated with being a cardinal. He died March 19.
Cardinal
Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, USCCB president, thanked the
pope for accepting Archbishop McCarrick’s resignation from the College
of Cardinals. In a statement July 28, he wrote: “I thank the Holy Father
for his leadership in taking this important step. It reflects the
priority the Holy Father places on the need for protection and care for
all our people and the way failures in this area affect the life of the
Church in the United States.”
In New Jersey, Cardinal Joseph W.
Tobin of Newark, an archdiocese that then-Archbishop McCarrick headed
1986-2000, stated July 28: “This latest news is a necessary step for the
Church to hold itself accountable for sexual abuse and harassment
perpetrated by its ministers, no matter their rank.”
Increased accountability urged by Church leaders
By Mark Pattison • Catholic News Service
Bp. OlsonWASHINGTON
— The sexual abuse allegations surrounding now-former Cardinal Theodore
E. McCarrick have prompted some Church figures to call for a more
thorough reckoning of the U.S. Church’s clerical sexual abuse policies.
With
his resignation July 28 from the College of Cardinals, Archbishop
McCarrick retains the title of archbishop. However, “his prompt
reduction canonically to the laity should be strongly deliberated,”
according to a July 28 statement by
Bishop Michael F. Olson of Fort Worth, Texas.
“The
evil effects of these actions were multiplied by the fact that
financial settlements were arranged with victims without transparency or
restrictions on the former cardinal’s ministry,” Bishop Olson stated.
“Justice
also requires that all of those in Church leadership who knew of the
former cardinal’s alleged crimes and sexual misconduct and did nothing
be held accountable for their refusal to act thereby enabling others to
be hurt.”
“We can — and I am confident that we will — strengthen
the rules and regulations and sanctions against any trying to fly under
the radar or to
Bp. Scharfenberger‘get away with’ such evil and destructive behaviors,”
stated Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger of Albany, N.Y.,
in a July 27 letter to clergy in his diocese. “But, at its heart, this
is much more than a challenge of law enforcement; it is a profoundly
spiritual crisis.”
“In negative terms, and as clearly and directly
as I can repeat our Church teaching, it is a grave sin to be ‘sexually
active’ outside of a real marriage covenant. A cardinal is not excused
from what a layperson or another member of the clergy is not,” Bishop
Scharfenberger wrote.
Bishop Scharfenberger stated, “Abuse of
authority — in this case, with strong sexual overtones — with vulnerable
persons is hardly less reprehensible than the sexual abuse of minors,
which the USCCB (U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops) attempted to
address in 2002. Unfortunately, at that time — something I never
understood — the ‘Charter’ (‘for the Protection of Children and Young
People’) did not go far enough so as to hold cardinals, archbishops and
bishops equally, if not more, accountable than priests and deacons.”
He
stated he believes the “vast majority of clergy — priests, deacons and
bishops alike — live or, at least, are striving to live holy and
admirable lifestyles. I am ashamed of those of my brothers, such as the
cardinal, who do not and have not.”
John Carr“As a father, I am appalled and angry. As a Catholic, I feel ashamed and betrayed,” according to a statement from John Carr,
director of the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life
at Georgetown University, who had worked closely with Archbishop
McCarrick on various
policy initiatives when Carr worked at USCCB
headquarters in Washington.
“As a friend of former Cardinal
McCarrick, I am devastated, especially for the victims and their
families,” Carr added. “I pray that these horrific developments can help
end this evil of clerical sex abuse and dismantle the culture that
permitted it within our family of faith.”
Msgr. Owen Campion, former editor of the
national newspaper Our Sunday Visitor and now chaplain of OSV
Newsweekly, said he felt dismay, revulsion, heartsickness, anger and —
for once — weariness upon learning of the accusations lodged against
Archbishop McCarrick.
“I am weary of trying to make excuses, of trying to find something to say,” Msgr. Campion wrote July 18.
He
added that he is tired of making the point that “sexual abuse is a vast
problem in our culture” and not just limited to the clergy, because he
is “assailed for concocting excuses.” “But I make it again,” he stated.
Msgr. CampionMsgr.
Campion stated, “One excuse that I have offered with increasing lack of
enthusiasm is the Dallas ‘Charter,’ a policy created by U.S. bishops to
right the wrongs. The charter, whether it is followed or not, spoke of
children, but attention must also be given to the wide sexual abuse of
adults.”
In Baltimore, Archbishop William E. Lori stated allegations against Archbishop McCarrick “have shaken our Church to its core.”
“That
we find ourselves in this place again is tragic and heart wrenching —
for the victims; for their families and friends; for all Catholics; and
for our neighbors whom we are called to serve in truth and love,” he
wrote in a statement July 30.
Building on the efforts of the pope
and others “to strengthen the accountability of bishops,” Archbishop
Lori stated, “some bishops in the United States are discussing proposals
to do the same, (including) measures that can be implemented in each
diocese to ensure that victims can easily report allegations of abuse by
any member of the Church, including bishops, and can confidently expect
that those allegations will get a full and
Abp. Lorifair hearing.”
“I will
contribute actively to those discussions and will fully implement their
results in the Archdiocese of Baltimore to best protect those in our
local Catholic community and all those we serve,” he stated, pledging
his “continued diligent oversight of the measures currently in place”
and renewing his commitment “to do all I can to build a culture of
accountability and transparency.”