Pope Francis expels Theodore McCarrick, former cardinal and archbishop of Washington

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https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/16/us/mccarrick-defrocked-vatican.html

Pope Defrocks Theodore McCarrick, Ex-Cardinal Accused of Sexual Abuse
By Elizabeth Dias and Jason Horowitz
Feb. 16, 2019

Pope Francis has expelled Theodore E. McCarrick, a former cardinal and archbishop of Washington, from the priesthood, after an expedited canonical process found him guilty of sexually abusing minors and adult seminarians over decades, the Vatican said on Saturday.

“The Holy Father has recognized the definitive nature of this decision made in accord with law” — making it final — the Vatican said of the sentence handed down by its doctrinal watchdog.

It appears to be the first time that a cardinal or bishop in the United States has been defrocked, or laicized, from the Roman Catholic Church, and the first time any cardinal has been laicized for sexual abuse. Laicization, which strips a person of all priestly identity, also revokes church-sponsored resources like housing and financial benefits.

While the Vatican has laicized hundreds of priests for sexual abuse of minors, few of the church’s leaders have faced severe discipline. The move to defrock Mr. McCarrick is “almost revolutionary,” said Kurt Martens, a professor of canon law at the Catholic University of America.