(RNS) — Defrocked Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, who was the highest-ranking U.S. Catholic prelate to face criminal charges for the sexual abuse of a minor, has died, the Archdiocese of Washington confirmed Friday (April 4).
In a statement, the current Archbishop of Washington, Cardinal Robert McElroy, told RNS, “At this moment I am especially mindful of those who he harmed during the course of his priestly ministry. Through their enduring pain, may we remain steadfast in our prayers for them and for all victims of sexual abuse.”
McCarrick, a greatly influential figure in the U.S. Catholic Church, with a reputation as a fundraiser, also led the Diocese of Metuchen and the Archdiocese of Newark in New Jersey before becoming archbishop of Washington in 2001, later being named cardinal by Pope John Paul II.
Accusations against McCarrick began to surface in the mid 1990s, but in 2018, reports from former seminarians in New Jersey detailed accusations that he had engaged in sexual misconduct.
The criminal case against McCarrick had been suspended since January 2024, after he was found incompetent to stand trial because of his dementia, but he was laicized in 2019 after a canonical trial found him guilty of “solicitation in the sacrament of confession and sins against the Sixth Commandment with minors and with adults, with the aggravating factor of the abuse of power.”
He was the first cardinal to be stripped of his cardinal rights and resign from the College of Cardinals, making him ineligible to elect the next pope.
He spent his last years in the Vianney Renewal Center in Missouri.
This story will be updated.