The Vatican on Saturday said it had defrocked ex-cardinal Theodore McCarrick, leveling a historic penalty against a onetime church power broker and former archbishop of Washington after the church found him guilty of sexual abuse. On Wednesday, the Vatican “considered the recourse” that McCarrick presented but confirmed its original decision: a determination that McCarrick was informed of on Friday. “Francis sees very clearly that sexual abuse is an abuse of power,” Ivereigh said. Pope Francis ordered him to a life of “prayer and penance,” and he moved to a friary in Kansas. Even as the canonical proceeding explored the facts directly surrounding McCarrick, the Vatican has remained silent about who might have helped protect McCarrick during his long career.

Source: Washington Post February 16, 2019 09:03 UTC