In the library of the Apostolic Palace last Wednesday, Pope Francis bowed his head and closed his eyes for a moment of silent prayer. He had just spoken about the report into the “painful case” of ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, and was, once again, pledging “closeness to all victims of every form of abuse and the Church’s commitment to eradicate this evil”.

He’s right. The 449-page McCarrick report does make for excruciating reading. It is a remarkably candid and comprehensive account of how one man rose up the ranks of the hierarchy despite allegations of sexual misconduct – and no one who read it could fail to see that the process of appointing bishops needs fundamental reform. The document is not just about Theodore McCarrick. It forensically exposes a clerical culture that turned a blind eye to allegations of sexual misconduct and allowed an abuser to rise to the highest ranks of the Church. It is a devastating indictment of how power is used and abused at the highest levels of the Catholic Church.

Perhaps the most heartbreaking, and telling, detail can be found in the early warnings church leaders received about McCarrick’s unhealthy interest in underage boys. The first to raise the alarm was “Mother 1” who had witnessed McCarrick’s inappropriate behaviour with two of her sons. Her shock and anger compelled her – sometime in the 1980s – to write anonymously to the cardinals of the United States and the papal ambassador setting out her concerns. Nothing happened. Despite rumours and allegations of misconduct over decades, McCarrick used deceit and charm to manipulate the system.