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Ex-Cardinal McCarrick charged in Wisconsin with sex abuse

Former Washington Archbishop, Cardinal Theodore McCarrick listens during a press conference in Washington, on 16th May, 2006

Madison, Wisconsin, US AP/Report for America The defrocked Roman Catholic cardinal who became the face of the church’s clergy sex abuse crisis has been charged in Wisconsin with sexually assaulting an 18-year-old man more than 45 years ago, court records show. A criminal complaint filed on Friday alleges that Theodore McCarrick, who was removed from […]

Vatican ponders priesthood amid abuse research, revelations

Vatican Pope Francis and Swiss Guard

Vatican City AP The Vatican this week is hosting a three-day symposium on the Catholic priesthood amid renewed public attention on clergy sex abuse scandals and fresh research into the abuses of priestly power that harm both children and adults. Pope Francis opens the symposium Thursday, and no fewer than a half-dozen Vatican cardinals are […]

Lawsuit: Defrocked US Cardinal McCarrick abused man in 1980s

AP Three sex abuse lawsuits filed against a New Jersey diocese and announced Thursday include claims that defrocked US Cardinal Theodore McCarrick abused a young man in the 1980s.  The lawsuit accuses McCarrick of sexual battery against the man, who was in his late teens and early 20s when McCarrick was Bishop of the Diocese […]

Ex-Cardinal McCarrick, 91, pleads not guilty in sex assault

US ex Cardinal Theodore McCarrick

Dedham, Massachusetts, US AP Former Roman Catholic Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the once-powerful American prelate who was expelled from the priesthood for sexual abuse, pleaded not guilty Friday to sexually assaulting a 16-year-old boy during a wedding reception in Massachusetts nearly 50 years ago.  McCarrick, 91, wore a mask and entered suburban Boston’s Dedham District Court […]

Pope, with new cardinals, warns church against mediocrity

Vatican St Peters Basilica new cardinals

Vatican City AP Pope Francis, joined by the church’s newest cardinals in Mass on Sunday, warned against mediocrity as well as seeking out “godfathers” to promote one’s own career.  Eleven of the 13 new cardinals sat near the central altar of St Peter’s Basilica, where Francis on Saturday had bestowed upon them the red hats […]

Alleging sex abuse, four sue Vatican over handling of McCarrick

Vatican St Peters rooftop

New York City, US AP Four accusers of former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick have filed a lawsuit against the Vatican, arguing it should be held liable for allowing the now-disgraced cleric to serve in multiple positions in New York and New Jersey when it knew of numerous allegations of sexual abuse against him.  The lawsuit was […]

McCarrick scandal, pandemic pose challenges for US bishops

Theodore McCarrick Noc 2011

AP Meeting online rather than in person, America’s Catholic bishops worried Monday that the coronavirus pandemic is testing people’s faith and wrestled with how to respond to a Vatican report detailing the serial sexual misconduct of ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick. “People’s faith in God has been shaken” by the pandemic, said Los Angeles Archbishop José Gomez, […]

McCarrick report shifts views of Pope John Paul II in a polarised Catholic Church

Pope John Paul II and Cardinal Theodore McCarrick 2001

Vatican City RNS For more than a week at the end of October, massive demonstrations swamped the streets of major cities in Poland as women marched against a court decision increasing abortion restrictions in the country. The demonstrators, accusing the Roman Catholic Church of being a partner with Poland’s increasingly authoritarian conservative government, also showed their anger […]