Archdiocese of Washington
8 reports indexed, newest first.
April 2025
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Defrocked former cardinal Theodore McCarrick dies at 94 without facing trial
McCarrick, the highest-ranking U.S. churchman to be dismissed from the priesthood over sexual abuse, died in Missouri at age 94. Both criminal cases against him had ended with findings that he was not competent to stand trial.
January 2024
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Wisconsin judge suspends criminal case against McCarrick, finding him unfit for trial
A Walworth County judge suspended McCarrick's sexual assault case after ruling he was mentally incompetent to stand trial and unlikely to regain competency, mirroring the earlier Massachusetts outcome.
December 2023
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New competency exam leaves McCarrick's Wisconsin sexual assault case in doubt
A state psychologist's evaluation of McCarrick, charged in Walworth County, Wisconsin, with a 1977 sexual assault at a lake resort, raised doubts about whether the case could proceed to trial.
August 2023
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Massachusetts judge dismisses McCarrick sex abuse case after finding him not competent for trial
A Dedham judge dismissed the criminal case against McCarrick, 93, after a prosecution expert agreed with the defense that dementia left him unable to assist in his own defense.
July 2021
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Ex-cardinal McCarrick criminally charged in Massachusetts with assaulting a teenager in 1974
McCarrick was charged in Dedham District Court with indecent assault and battery on a person over 14, stemming from an alleged 1974 assault at a wedding reception at Wellesley College. He became the first U.S. cardinal criminally charged with sexual abuse of a minor.
November 2020
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Vatican report finds church leaders, including John Paul II, discounted warnings about McCarrick
The Vatican released a 449-page internal report concluding that bishops, cardinals and popes received reports of McCarrick's misconduct for decades, and that Pope John Paul II promoted him despite those warnings.
February 2019
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Vatican defrocks former cardinal Theodore McCarrick over sexual abuse
Pope Francis confirmed a Vatican ruling that found McCarrick guilty under church law of sexually abusing minors and adults and dismissed him from the priesthood, the first cardinal laicized for abuse.
June 2018
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Cardinal Theodore McCarrick removed from public ministry after abuse allegation found credible
The Vatican ordered retired Washington Archbishop Theodore McCarrick out of public ministry after an Archdiocese of New York review board found credible a decades-old allegation that he abused a teenage altar server. McCarrick denied the allegation.