Catholic Church Expels US Cardinal For Sexual Abuse in Historic Move
Theodore McCarrick becomes the first prelate in nearly 100 years to lose his title.
© press
Disgraced D.C. Cardinal Theodore McCarrick has been expelled from the Roman Catholic priesthood after he was found guilty of sexually abusing children and adults, according to the Vatican.
The ruling, which was followed by an appeal by the man who was a power-broker as Archbishop of Washington, D.C., was decided 'final' by Pope Francis.
In a statement, the Vatican said McCarrick's crimes were made more severe by "the aggravating factor of the abuse of power."
McCarrick is at the helm of the growing child abuse scandal surrounding the Catholic church.
© press
The former Cardinal became the first Roman Catholic prelate in nearly 100 years to lose his title.
He now becomes the highest profile church figure to be dismissed from the priesthood in history.
The Vatican's rejection of McCarrick comes as the church attempts to deal with the decades-long Child Abuse crisis.
Last year, Neon Nettle reported that Vatican and high-ranking Bishops actively covered for the or disgraced D.C. Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, according to a letter from 2006.
The letter was released by the Catholic News Service, which addressed to a New York priest, confirming Vatican officials were fully aware of
A historic moment in the Catholics Church's pedophile scandal
Marrick's arrest has exposed how pedophile priests were transported to different Parishes so they could avoid being defrocked or turned over to civilian authorities.
The Cardinals high profile arrest and loss of title is a significant move from the Vatican.
© press
According to a report from Euronews: The ruling, made by the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith three days ago, was declared ahead of next week's meeting at the Vatican among the heads of national Catholic Churches to discuss the global child abuse crisis.
Defrocking determines McCarrick can no longer declare himself a priest or celebrate the sacraments, although he would be permitted to administer to a person on the brink of death in an emergency.
The charges against McCarrick, whose fall from grace astonished the U.S. Church, date back to decades ago when he was still rising to the top of the hierarchy there.
McCarrick, who has been living in solitude in a remote friary in Kansas, has acknowledged publicly to only one of the allegations, saying he has "absolutely no recollection" of an asserted case of sexual abuse of a 16-year-old boy more than 50 years ago.
Vatican spokesman Alessandro Gisotti stated the ruling determined that "different treatment for bishops who have committed or covered up abuse represents a form of clericalism that is no longer acceptable."
McCarrick was also found guilty of the separate crime of solicitation, which refers to when a priest uses the pretext of the sacrament of confession to committing an immoral act with a penitent.
One of the men who had claimed that McCarrick abused him when he was a boy said McCarrick; then a priest touched his genitals during confession.
Separately, several priests and ex-priests had come forward alleging McCarrick used his authority to coerce them to sleep with him when they were adult seminarians studying for the priesthood.
McCarrick has not commented publicly on the allegations of wrongdoing with adults, which was an open secret in the U.S. Church.
Former Nuncio from the Vatican to Washington, D.C, published an 11-page letter, accusing Pope Francis of lifting sanctions on the sexually abusive Cardinal Theodore McCarrick in 2013 that were previously enforced under Pope Benedict XVI.
According to a source close to Benedict, Church officials were fully aware of McCarrick's sexual abuse and placed private sanctions on him.
However, the disgraced Cardinal McCarrick regularly "disobeyed" the sanctions, and continued to sexually assault children, all with the full knowledge of Vatican officials - who chose to ignore his "disobedience" - with the cycle of pedophilia continuing "for years."
