Reports of sexual misconduct In 1994, a priest wrote a letter to Bishop
Edward T. Hughes, McCarrick's successor as Bishop of Metuchen, stating that McCarrick had inappropriately touched him. According to Italian journalists Andrea Tornielli and Gianni Valente, Cardinal O'Connor, in fact, "objected strongly to John Paul II's idea of rewarding McCarrick and the diocese of Newark with a stop during his papal visit to the United States in 1995", but that John Paul's personal secretary,
Stanisław Dziwisz, was able to intercept these objections before they reached the pope. The authors suggest that this was because as bishop, McCarrick was an efficient fundraiser for the Pope's causes, including
anti-Communist efforts in
Poland.
Boniface Ramsey stated that he spoke to
Thomas C. Kelly,
Archbishop of Louisville, about McCarrick in 1993. The letter was forwarded to
Leonardo Sandri, the Vatican substitute for general affairs and later, a cardinal. Ramsey said that he tried to speak with Cardinal
Edward Egan, then
Archbishop of New York, about McCarrick's history, but that Egan "didn't want to hear it". The image showed that McCarrick's name and Archbishop status were concealed in the letter whenever Sandri mentioned it. However, one month later, McCarrick himself wrote a letter to Pope John Paul II's secretary to say that he had been tipped off about O'Connor's letter and vehemently denied the allegations: Pope John Paul II was convinced by McCarrick's letter, and the two met at the Vatican in October 2000. Pope John Paul II appointed McCarrick Archbishop of Washington, D.C. in November 2000. In 2015, Ramsey wrote to Cardinal
Seán Patrick O'Malley,
Archbishop of Boston, about McCarrick. O'Malley stated that he never saw the letter, and that it had been handled "at the staff level." In 2018, news outlets reported that priests and former seminarians under McCarrick had alleged that McCarrick had engaged in inappropriate conduct with male seminarians. McCarrick reportedly routinely invited some of these young men to a house on the shore with so few beds that a man would have to share the bishop's bed. According to one former seminarian, Desmond Rossi, he and a friend later realized that the archbishop would cancel weekend gatherings "if there were not enough men going that they would exceed the number of available beds, thus necessitating one guest to share a bed with the archbishop". Rossi subsequently transferred before ordination from the Archdiocese of Newark to a
diocese in New York State. Wuerl denied having any prior knowledge of claims regarding sexual abuse on the part of McCarrick. On January 10, 2019,
The Washington Post published a story stating that Wuerl was aware of allegations against McCarrick in 2004 and reported them to the Vatican. In a January 12, 2019, letter, Wuerl stated that when "the allegation of sexual abuse of a minor was brought against Archbishop McCarrick, I stated publicly that I was never aware of any such allegation or rumors." But the context, he said, was in discussions about sexual abuse of minors, not adults. He later said, in a letter dated January 15, to the priests of the archdiocese, that the survivor in the previous Pittsburgh case had asked that the matter be kept confidential, and he heard no more about it: "I did not avert to it again"; "only afterwards was I reminded of the 14-year-old accusation of inappropriate conduct which, by that time, I had forgotten." In August 2019, letters and postcards that McCarrick sent to his alleged victims were made public. Two abuse prevention experts who reviewed the letters and postcards for the
Associated Press described the correspondence as "a window into the way a predator grooms his prey."
Additional allegations, removal from ministry, and resignation as cardinal On June 20, 2018, McCarrick was removed from public ministry by the
Holy See, after a review board of the
Archdiocese of New York found an allegation "credible and substantiated" that he had sexually abused a 16-year-old altar boy while a priest in New York. Noaker stated that when measuring the teen for a
cassock, McCarrick "unzipped [the boy's] pants and put his hands in the boy's pants." McCarrick stated that he was innocent of these charges: "I have absolutely no recollection of this reported abuse, and believe in my innocence." He also stated, "In obedience I accept the decision of The Holy See, that I no longer exercise any public ministry." Also on June 20, 2018, Tobin revealed that during McCarrick's ministry in New Jersey, there had been accusations of sexual misconduct with three adults, and that two of the allegations had resulted in confidential financial settlements with the complainants. On July 5, 2018,
Fordham University rescinded an honorary degree and other honors it had granted McCarrick.
The Catholic University of America, where McCarrick earned two degrees and served in a variety of spiritual and administrative positions, also revoked the honorary degree it had awarded him in 2006. On July 16, 2018,
The New York Times published a front-page article describing McCarrick's abuse of adult seminarians. On July 19,
The New York Times published an article based on the story of a man named James, whose last name was withheld. A
New Jersey man whose uncle had known McCarrick since high school, James alleged that McCarrick had sexually abused him beginning at age 11. James had been the first boy McCarrick had ever baptized. James said that McCarrick had exposed himself to him when he was 11 and had sexually touched him beginning when he was 13. He explained that he tried to tell his father a couple of years later but was not believed. On November 13, James revealed himself as James Grein, and gave a public speech at the "Silence Stops Now Rally" in Baltimore, where he called on Catholics to "reform and reclaim the Church." Speaking about alleged mishandling of allegations by Catholic bishops, he said, "Our bishops must know that the jig is up." On July 27, 2018,
Pope Francis ordered McCarrick to observe "a
life of prayer and penance in seclusion" and accepted his resignation from the
College of Cardinals, He was also the first cardinal to resign after allegations of sexual abuse. The Pope took this action before the accusations were investigated by church officials, the first time an order of penance and prayer has been issued before a church trial. McCarrick was not
laicized (removed from the priesthood) at the time, pending the completion of a
canonical trial. In December 2019, McCarrick was sued by a man named John Bellocchio, who said that McCarrick sexually abused him when he was a 14-year-old boy in the 1990s.
2018 Viganò letter On August 25, 2018,
Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, former
Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, released an 11-page letter describing a series of warnings to the
Vatican regarding McCarrick. Viganò stated that
Gabriel Montalvo, then nuncio to the United States, had informed the Vatican in 2000 of what Viganò characterized as McCarrick's "gravely immoral behaviour with seminarians and priests." He further stated that Archbishop
Pietro Sambi, the nuncio from 2005 to 2011, had also informed the Vatican. Viganò says that in 2006 – when working at the Vatican – he wrote his own memo regarding McCarrick. He said nothing was done, however, to stop McCarrick. In 2008, Viganò says he wrote a second memo, including material from Sipe. In 2009 or 2010, according to Viganò,
Pope Benedict XVI placed severe restrictions on McCarrick's movements and public ministry, not allowing him to travel beyond the grounds of the seminary where he was living and not permitting him to say Mass in public. According to Viganò, however,
Pope Francis subsequently removed these sanctions and made McCarrick "his trusted counselor", even though Francis "knew from at least June 23, 2013 that McCarrick was a serial predator. He knew that he was a corrupt man, he covered for him to the bitter end." Viganò called on Pope Francis and all others whom he said covered up McCarrick's conduct to resign. Both Cardinal
Marc Ouellet, having been asked to come forward in 2018 by Viganò, and the "2020 Vatican Report on McCarrick" largely confirmed Viganò's statements that the Vatican under Benedict XVI imposed restrictions on McCarrick, although McCarrick proved often unwilling to follow them. The report also found that Viganò actively sought harsh sanctions for McCarrick while working as an official in the Secretariat of State. Both Ouellet and the report, however, disputed Viganò's accusations against Francis, with the report admitting only that Francis heard of rumors about sexual impropriety by McCarrick but believed them to be discredited, and did not hear reports about abuse of minors until 2018. Viganò stated that he discussed McCarrick's conduct and the penalties surrounding it with McCarrick's successor as Archbishop of Washington, Cardinal Wuerl, whom he says transgressed the Pope's order by allowing McCarrick to continue living at the seminary and therefore putting other seminarians at risk. Wuerl, through his spokesperson, Ed McFadden, denied that he was aware of any restrictions on McCarrick. "Archbishop Viganò presumed that Wuerl had specific information that Wuerl did not have," McFadden said. McCarrick's situation reportedly became easier when Nuncio Pietro Sambi died unexpectedly in July 2011 and was succeeded by Viganò, who, according to Tornielli and Valente, proved less eager to enforce Benedict XVI's instructions to McCarrick. The McCarrick case, along with the conclusion of the
Grand jury investigation of Catholic Church sexual abuse in Pennsylvania, which alleged systematic cover-up of clergy sex abuse by bishops in Pennsylvania over decades, triggered a general call from Catholics across ideological boundaries for greater accountability and transparency in the church. These issues, however, in particular the Viganò allegations, have also escalated tensions in the Catholic Church between ideological liberals and conservatives, especially over the possible role of
homosexuality in clergy sex abuse and the alleged complicity of Pope Francis in protecting McCarrick. On May 28, 2019, McCarrick's private secretary, Anthony J. Figueiredo, released letters written by McCarrick suggesting that while senior Vatican officials placed restrictions on the former Cardinal after abuse allegations surfaced, they were not official sanctions and were not strictly enforced under the papacies of either Pope Benedict XVI or Pope Francis. In an interview published on May 28, 2019, Francis directly addressed the accusations made in Viganò's letter for the first time. He stated that he "knew nothing" about McCarrick's conduct. McCarrick claimed to have discussed restrictions that were placed on him with Wuerl, but Wuerl denied that he had any knowledge of such restrictions.
Vatican trial and laicization On September 28, 2018, it was announced that McCarrick had moved to the
Capuchin St. Fidelis Friary in
Victoria, Kansas, the day before. The announcement was unpopular with many of the citizens of Victoria, especially because the friary is near an elementary school. meaning it was final and McCarrick had no further opportunity to appeal. and his laicization was permanent. McCarrick was the most senior church official in
modern times to be laicized.
Seton Hall Title IX investigation On September 5, 2019, it was revealed that an investigation conducted by
Seton Hall University found that McCarrick's acts of sexual abuse against seminarians at the university were classified as a
TitleIX offense. Incidents of sex abuse McCarrick committed at both Immaculate Conception Seminary and St. Andrew's Seminary were not reported to the university because at the time, they were not compliant with Title IX. On August 10, 2020, however, it was revealed that a seminary professor did report in the late 1980s that McCarrick was taking seminary students to his shore house and that this allegation was disregarded by the Catholic Church.
Vatican report On November 10, 2020, the Vatican released a report about the handling of allegations against McCarrick. It states that through an October 1999 letter from Cardinal O'Connor,
Pope John Paul II learned of allegations of sexual deviancy against McCarrick while in the process of considering him for the position of Archbishop of Washington, but that an investigation was paused after three of the four bishops tasked with looking into the accusations provided "inaccurate and incomplete information." John Paul II then decided not to appoint him, but changed his mind after receiving a letter from McCarrick proclaiming his innocence. The report suggested that John Paul II was probably influenced by his experience in his native
Poland where the communist government used "spurious allegations against bishops to degrade the standing of the Church". The report states that Benedict XVI asked for McCarrick's resignation as Archbishop of Washington in 2005, after learning about the 1994 letter to Hughes. The Vatican
Office for Bishops ordered McCarrick to retire to private life verbally in 2006, and put it in writing in 2008, but both times he ignored their instructions. Benedict was also faulted in the report, however, for not standing in the way of McCarrick's growing power. According to the report, Pope Francis, prior to becoming pope, had learned of allegations against McCarrick before McCarrick was named Archbishop of Washington, but believed that John Paul II had rejected them. Francis knew of rumors surrounding sexual conduct between McCarrick and adults but received no documentation of sexual impropriety against McCarrick until 2017, and was not aware of accusations of sexual abuse against minors until 2018.
Lawsuits and settlements In 2005, the
Archdiocese of Newark and the Dioceses of
Trenton and Metuchen paid a total of $80,000 to a former priest, who stated that McCarrick would touch him in bed, but only above the waist, and that they never kissed. The Diocese of Metuchen's contribution was not in reference to McCarrick, but to an allegation regarding previous conduct of a teacher at a high school located at that time in the diocese. Between 2005 and 2007, the
Diocese of Metuchen and the
Archdiocese of Newark paid financial settlements to two priests who had accused McCarrick of abuse. In 2006, $100,000 was paid by the Diocese of Metuchen, where McCarrick had been bishop from 1981 to 1986. In 2010, Sipe published excerpts from the 2005 and 2007 settlement documents. Between 2001 and 2006, McCarrick gave $600,000 to high-ranking church officials, including two popes, multiple priests, cardinals, and archbishops, when he was Archbishop of Washington. Some of those recipients, however, including both Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, had little oversight over these transactions. In August 2019, one of McCarrick's alleged victims, James Grein, filed a lawsuit against McCarrick and the Archdiocese of New York. In December 2019, Grein extended his lawsuit to the New Jersey-based Archdiocese of Newark and Diocese of Metuchen, claiming that the two dioceses committed gross negligence when they allowed McCarrick, who Grein stated was a friend of his family, That same month, a new law went into effect throughout New Jersey which allowed more sex victims to file lawsuits. One of these cases was also reported to be the first sex abuse lawsuit brought against the Holy See, The alleged victim, who attended schools operated by the Archdiocese of Newark, alleged priests and others under the control of McCarrick engaged in "open and obvious criminal sexual conduct" that was kept cloaked by the church and also served as "procurers" for McCarrick. The Archidocese of Newark, Diocese of Metuchen, where McCarrick was serving as bishop of at time of the alleged abuse, and the Catholic schools the alleged victim attended, were named as defendants in the lawsuit as well. On November 19, 2020, four people who accused McCarrick of sexually abusing them filed a lawsuit against the
Holy See in
federal court in Newark, New Jersey, saying it had failed in its oversight of McCarrick over whom it exercised complete control as his employer. The Holy See says priests are not its employees and that its status as a foreign sovereign is a defense from such a suit. In November 2021, a new lawsuit was filed against both McCarrick and the Archdiocese of Newark by Michael Reading, a priest who claimed McCarrick sexually abused him during a visit to the New Jersey shore in 1986.
Criminal charges On July 29, 2021, McCarrick was charged with sexually assaulting a 16-year-old male in 1974, during a wedding reception for the boy's brother on the grounds of
Wellesley College in
Massachusetts. The complaint was filed by
Wellesley Police in
Dedham District Court. On September 3, 2021, McCarrick pleaded not guilty in Dedham District Court to three counts of indecent assault and battery stemming from the alleged 1974 incident. In an early 2023 court filing, McCarrick's lawyers stated that he had experienced "significant" and "rapidly worsening" cognitive decline, and was thus not fit to stand trial. In June of that year, a state-appointed
forensic psychologist found "deficits of his memory and ability to retain information", and in August the court ruled that McCarrick was mentally incompetent to stand trial. On April 16, 2023, McCarrick was charged with one count of fourth-degree sexual assault for a 1977 incident that occurred near
Geneva Lake in
Wisconsin. McCarrick allegedly abused the victim over a period of time, including at the Geneva Lake residence where he fondled the victim's genitals. Following McCarrick's death, Catholic officials offered condolences for his victims, acknowledging that justice was never served for McCarrick's actions. ==Final years==