Former cardinal Theodore McCarrick dies aged 94

In 2018, reports of McCarrick’s abuse, grooming, and harassment of seminarians became public amid a nationwide reckoning on clerical sexual abuse.

Theodore McCarrick, the former cardinal and Archbishop of Washington was found guilty in a Vatican investigation of sexually abusing minors and adults, died on 3 April aged 94. 

In a statement on Friday, the present Archbishop of Washinton Cardinal Robert McElroy confirmed McCarrick’s death. McCarrick, who was reportedly suffering with dementia, had been living in a facility in rural Missouri. 

“Today I learned of the death of Theodore McCarrick, former Archbishop of Washington. 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,” McElroy said. 

Ordained a priest in 1958, the New York-born McCarrick rose through the ranks of the American Church throughout the late twentieth century. During his episcopal tenure he was an auxiliary bishop in New York, then led the Diocese of Metuchen, New Jersey, the Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey, and later the Archdiocese of Washington.

He was a leading participant in the development of the 2002 Dallas Charter and the US Conference of Catholic Bishops Essential Norms, which established procedures for handling allegations of sexual abuse concerning priests.

In 2018, reports of McCarrick’s abuse, grooming, and harassment of seminarians became public amid a nationwide reckoning on clerical sexual abuse.

A Vatican investigation in 2019 found McCarrick guilty of numerous instances of sexual abuse, and Pope Francis laicised him in February of that year. In 2020, the Vatican published a lengthy report on McCarrick examining in detail the “institutional knowledge and decision-making” regarding the former cardinal and how he continued to be promoted despite rumours of misconduct.

In addition to the Vatican investigations, McCarrick faced numerous criminal charges. However, a Massachusetts state district judge ruled in 2023 that McCarrick was not competent to stand trial on the criminal sexual abuse charges brought against him.

A criminal case against McCarrick in Wisconsin was suspended in January 2024 after a psychologist hired by the court also found McCarrick was not competent to stand trial.

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