Former U.S. Cardinal McCarrick defrocked for sex crimes

[rooster59]

Former U.S. Cardinal McCarrick defrocked for sex crimes

By Philip Pullella

 

FILE PHOTO: Cardinal Theodore Edgar McCarrick during an interview with Reuters at the North American College in Rome February 14, 2013. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi/File Photo

 

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Former U.S. Cardinal Theodore McCarrick has been expelled from the Roman Catholic priesthood after he was found guilty of sexual crimes against minors and adults, the Vatican said on Saturday.

 

Pope Francis has decided that the ruling, which followed an appeal by the man who was a power-broker as Archbishop of Washington, D.C. from 2001 to 2006, was now final.

 

A Vatican statement said his crimes were made more serious by "the aggravating factor of the abuse of power".

 

McCarrick, who in July became the first Roman Catholic prelate in nearly 100 years to lose the title of cardinal, has now become the highest profile church figure to be dismissed from the priesthood in modern times.

 

The decision comes as the Church is still grappling with a decades-long sexual abuse crisis that has exposed how predator priests were moved from parish to parish instead of being defrocked or turned over to civilian authorities in countries across the globe.

 

With the ruling, Pope Francis appears to be sending a signal that even those in the highest echelons of the hierarchy will be held accountable.

 

The ruling, made by the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith three days ago, was announced ahead of next week's meeting at the Vatican between the heads of national Catholic Churches to discuss the global abuse crisis.

 

Defrocking means McCarrick can no longer call himself a priest or celebrate the sacraments, although he would be allowed to administer to a person on the verge of death in an emergency.

 

The allegations against McCarrick, whose fall from grace stunned 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 seclusion in a remote friary in Kansas, has responded publicly to only one of the allegations, saying he has "absolutely no recollection" of an alleged case of sexual abuse of a 16-year-old boy more than 50 years ago.

 

Vatican spokesman Alessandro Gisotti said the ruling showed that "different treatment for bishops who have committed or covered up abuse in fact represents a form of clericalism that is no longer acceptable."

 

CRIME IN CONFESSION

 

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 commit an immoral act with a penitent.

 

One of men who has 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 have 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 misconduct with adults, which was an open secret in the U.S. Church.

 

Francis ordered a "thorough study" last year of all documents in Holy See offices concerning McCarrick. The four U.S. dioceses where he served - New York, Metuchen, Newark, and Washington, D.C. - have launched independent investigations.

 

The pope wanted the case completed before heads of national Catholic churches meet at the Vatican from Feb. 21-24 to discuss the crisis, three sources said.

 

The meeting offers a chance for him to respond to criticism from victims of abuse that he has stumbled in his handling of the crisis and has not done enough to make bishops accountable.

 

McCarrick had already received one of the most severe punishments short of defrocking. When the pope accepted his resignation as cardinal last July, he also ordered him to refrain from public ministry and live in seclusion, prayer and penitence.

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-02-16

[arithai12]

The guy is almost 90. The people that covered up for him must be older, probably dead. Doesn't seem like great justice has been served, but at least it's a signal.

[pegman]

The Church should be labeled a criminal organization and disbanded by the courts. It's property and possessions confiscated just like what is done to the bike gangs. 

[Basil B]

16 minutes ago, pegman said:

The Church should be labeled a criminal organization and disbanded by the courts. It's property and possessions confiscated just like what is done to the bike gangs. 

did not Henry VIII do something like that?

[Mike Teavee]

I always "Believed" I was agnostic (I don't know if God exists & am resigned to the fact that I never will - Get on with life), turns out today's society labels me as "Passive Atheist" but if there is a God & a Hell, I "pray" for a special room for these people.

[Puchaiyank]

Neuter the bastard...

[attrayant]

9 hours ago, rooster59 said:

Defrocking means McCarrick can no longer call himself a priest or celebrate the sacraments

 

He can't use a particular word, and he can't "celebrate".  I wonder, what is the additional punishment if he does call himself a priest?  A double-secret defrocking?

 

He obviously does not believe in his particular brand of superstition, or he wouldn't have committed these crimes in the first place.

[simple1]

6 hours ago, pegman said:

The Church should be labeled a criminal organization and disbanded by the courts. It's property and possessions confiscated just like what is done to the bike gangs. 

A good start would be delegitimising Cannon Law and replacing with Common Law.

[Aussieroaming]

He should be executed along with all of those that protected him. Another disgraceful event in the anals of the Catholic Church.

[Lacessit]

16 minutes ago, Aussieroaming said:

He should be executed along with all of those that protected him. Another disgraceful event in the anals of the Catholic Church.

I take it the misspelling was deliberate.

[simon43]

Defrocked eh?  That'll teach him... NOT!

[Puchaiyank]

1 minute ago, simon43 said:

Defrocked eh?  That'll teach him... NOT!

Decapitate...disembowel...may get other unruly priests attention...

[Aussie999]

18 minutes ago, simon43 said:

Defrocked eh?  That'll teach him... NOT!

Yeah, now he's running around frockless....

[Liverpudlian]

Hope someone pops a pill in his porridge.

[bristolboy]

1 hour ago, Aussieroaming said:

He should be executed along with all of those that protected him. Another disgraceful event in the anals of the Catholic Church.

Unfortunately, the chief protector of these abusers, John Paul II is past all punishment. In fact, the Church is moving to beatify him.

[pedro01]

Seems he turned too many cheeks

[animalmagic]

McCarrick, who has been living in seclusion in a remote friary in Kansas, has responded publicly to only one of the allegations, saying he has "absolutely no recollection" of an alleged case of sexual abuse of a 16-year-old boy more than 50 years ago.

 

It seems the First Lady disagrees with him

 

A man might forget where he parks or where he lives, but he never forgets oral sex, no matter how bad it is.” 
― Barbara Bush

[atyclb]

28 minutes ago, animalmagic said:

McCarrick, who has been living in seclusion in a remote friary in Kansas, has responded publicly to only one of the allegations, saying he has "absolutely no recollection" of an alleged case of sexual abuse of a 16-year-old boy more than 50 years ago.

 

It seems the First Lady disagrees with him

 

A man might forget where he parks or where he lives, but he never forgets oral sex, no matter how bad it is.” 
― Barbara Bush

 

disagree with barbara's statement

[klauskunkel]

The catholic church has proven over the millenia again and again that it is not an altruistic institution. The altruism, moral and ethical high ground is just the con game they have been playing pretty much since their immaculate inception. It's to hide their true ambition: wealth and power over people.

Under this guise the church has committed atrocities, eradicated whole cultures, tortured, raped, murdered, all the while being immune from punishment by governments and, because it's their shtick of self-absolution, from their own god. And because of that immunity the beat goes on, badabamm, badabamm.

Even now, in modern age, the church has not evolved... improved... bettered itself. Why should it? Nobody is going to to take it to task. That opportunity is long gone, it's too rich and powerful by now. What it did do is become more sophisticated in dealing with a more complicated world, become more eloquent in its rhetoric, become more skilled in obfuscation and deflecting - in other words it adapted like any successful parasite does. Sure, they "reform", they "promise", they "self-reflect" and all this works exactly as intended: it's designed to take the edge off the attention, diffuse the scrutiny. And this works for any government, corporation, powerful institution.

Just look at this story: prayer is considered a part of "severe punishment"... oh, jeeez! Let's just turn another cheek towards the church to do with as it will.

 

 

[Aussieroaming]

2 hours ago, bristolboy said:

Unfortunately, the chief protector of these abusers, John Paul II is past all punishment. In fact, the Church is moving to beatify him.

And the machine rolls on

[Baerboxer]

5 hours ago, attrayant said:

 

He can't use a particular word, and he can't "celebrate".  I wonder, what is the additional punishment if he does call himself a priest?  A double-secret defrocking?

 

He obviously does not believe in his particular brand of superstition, or he wouldn't have committed these crimes in the first place.

 

His brand of superstition, as you put it, allows us weak humans to err, as long as we confess our sins and say 20 Hail Mary's or whatever. A sort of ritualized hypocrisy.

 

He's an old man, likely going to live out life in a nice monastery, looked after by his church. Thrown under a bus or taking one for the 'team"?

[Puchaiyank]

John Paul II is past all punishment. In fact, the Church is moving to beatify him....

 

No offense...but this guy is just a con man with a beautiful robe ruling over an empire of lemmings.  It is way past time to clip the Catholic church wings and place them under civil law...tax their income and properties and incarcerate their criminal member priests...

 

[marcusarelus]

7 minutes ago, Puchaiyank said:

John Paul II is past all punishment. In fact, the Church is moving to beatify him....

 

No offense...but this guy is just a con man with a beautiful robe ruling over an empire of lemmings.  It is way past time to clip the Catholic church wings and place them under civil law...tax their income and properties and incarcerate their criminal member priests...

 

They aren't a charity and deserve no protection under the law.

[Prissana Pescud]

6 hours ago, Aussieroaming said:

He should be executed along with all of those that protected him. Another disgraceful event in the anals of the Catholic Church.

I think the word you were meant to use was annuls. But anals is probably the right word for these bum bashing paedos.

Defrocked is another laugh. The nasty bugger should be in jail.

[Lacessit]

23 minutes ago, Prissana Pescud said:

I think the word you were meant to use was annuls. But anals is probably the right word for these bum bashing paedos.

Defrocked is another laugh. The nasty bugger should be in jail.

I thought it was annals. Annuls is a dirty word for Catholics with respect to marriage.

[UPDEHSOI]

10 hours ago, Puchaiyank said:

Neuter the bastard...

...with a dull spoon!!

[rott]

5 hours ago, klauskunkel said:

The catholic church has proven over the millenia again and again that it is not an altruistic institution. The altruism, moral and ethical high ground is just the con game they have been playing pretty much since their immaculate inception. 

 

 

Sadly there was no immaculate inception any more than there was an immaculate CONception.

(For the benefit of those who actually know what it means.)

[ReMarKable]

13 hours ago, Mike Teavee said:

I always "Believed" I was agnostic (I don't know if God exists & am resigned to the fact that I never will - Get on with life), turns out today's society labels me as "Passive Atheist" but if there is a God & a Hell, I "pray" for a special room for these people.

There have been so many gods in the past and present.  Hard to believe one is always testing us to see if we are fit for heaven. Atheism seems more appropriate for me.  If Christians were nice people I might change my mind.

[marcusarelus]

If people are ignorant enough to believe all that BS I guess "serves them right" would be the accurate phrase.  I was 8 years old when I first asked my parents, "do you really think I'm that dumb?"  Then priests and nuns started beating me for asking questions (something about losing face).  The parents, governments and educators should all be locked up for letting kids be taught such foolishness that leads to covering up crimes like the Criminal Cardinal had allowed. 

[klauskunkel]

2 hours ago, rott said:

Sadly there was no immaculate inception any more than there was an immaculate CONception.

(For the benefit of those who actually know what it means.)

i guess my word play was too subtle