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The former Archbishop of Washington Theodore Mc Carrick was defrocked by the Vatican: 88 years old, he was accused of pedophile acts and sexual assault on seminarians. His sanction was confirmed this morning by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome and is final
With our correspondent at the Vatican, Eric Senanque
It is the end of a long process that has resulted in a canonical process. In a note, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith explains the crimes of which the former cardinal is guilty: " Solicitation in confession and violations of the sixth commandment of the Decalogue with minors and adults, with the aggravating circumstance of the abuse of power ". Specifically, the former archbishop of Washington was accused of sexually assaulting seminarians but also a sixteen-year-old boy almost half a century ago.
Disgrace
His disgrace had begun in the summer of 2018 after multiple revelations about these crimes in the American press. Heavyweight of the American Church for years, Theodore McCarrick was the central figure of the accusing letter of Monsignor Vigano, the former nuncio in Washington, published in August. A letter in which Pope Francis was accused of being aware of the actions of the archbishop.
Simple layman
After being expelled from the College of Cardinals and forbidden to celebrate any sacrament, McCarrick is now considered a mere layman. The sentence, approved by Pope Francis, is final, said the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. A few days before the opening of the World Summit on sexual abuse in the Church, the message is strong: This is the first time in the history of the Catholic Church that a cardinal is defrocked for reasons of sexual abuse.