Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, former Newark Archbishop, removed from ministry over past sex abuse allegations

NEWARK (NJ)
NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

June 20, 2018

By Kelly Heyboer and Ted Sherman

Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the former Archbishop of Newark and Archbishop Emeritus of Washington, D.C., has been removed from public ministry in the wake of allegations that he abused a teen 50 years ago while serving as a priest in the New York Archdiocese.

McCarrick, who accepted the decision, is one of the highest-ranking American leaders in the Catholic Church to be removed from ministry over sex abuse charges.

The allegations against him have been deemed “credible and substantiated” by Vatican officials, McCarrick acknowledged in a statement. However, the veteran cardinal said he does not remember the incident from a half-century ago, and believes he is innocent.

News of McCarrick’s removal came as church officials in New Jersey separately revealed for the first time that the cardinal had previously been accused of sexual misconduct with three adults during his time in the state.

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