The former cardinal Theodore McCarrick is dead. He was expelled from the priesthood for sexual harassment

Theodore E. McCarrick, a former cardinal and spiritual leader of the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, who was found guilty of sexual harassment and expelled from priesthood is dead. He was 94 years old.

The death of Cardinal Theodore McCarrick was confirmed by Cardinal Robert W. Mcelroy, Archbishop of Washington. He did not provide details.

Guilty of harassment of children and adults

Theodore McCarrick, elevated to the Cardinal dignity by Saint. John Paul II in 2001, was considered one of the most influential church hierarchs. He was expelled from the clergy in 2019, after the Vatican found him guilty of harassment of children and adults. The AP agency reports that McCarrick got the highest priestly dignity, although “it was supposedly commonly known that he slept with seminarians.”

Despite many accusations, McCarrick was not made for many years, due to the limitation period of cases. Due to the specificity of Massachusetts law, however, the case of sexual assault on the 16-year-old in 1974 was not limited. Because the former priest left this state, and his case was suspended, the allegations were not expired, “Reuters explained. Thanks to this in 2021 McCarrick was in court.

Read more: Who is Theodore McCarrick?

The secretary's state of the Holy See, on the order of Pope Francis, was drawn and published in November 2020, over 400-page report on the knowledge that the Vatican had in the McCarrick case, as well as the decision-making processes that were undertaken in his case.

The document was created within two years based on the testimonies of 90 witnesses and dozens of documents, letters and transcription from church archives from the Vatican and the USA. It covers several pontificates. It gathered testimonies of church dignitaries, as well as victims who told about sexual aggression, forced intimate contacts and about “sharing the bed” with McCarrick.

See also: “Bielmo” reportage series. “We can't worry about the truth”