Retired Catholic bishop faces more accusations of abuse

A month after Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the retired Roman Catholic archbishop of Washington, D.C., was removed from public ministry for “credible” accusations of sexually molesting a teenage boy 40 years ago, more accusations have surfaced. One man identified as “James” told The New York Times that McCarrick had abused him for nearly 20 years beginning at age 11. The paper also quoted two men who claimed McCarrick had abused them in the 1980s while they were preparing for the priesthood. They received settlements of $80,000 and $100,000, respectively, in the mid-2000s. The Times also reported that McCarrick continued his ascent up the Catholic hierarchy despite “multiple reports” about his abuse to American bishops and eventually to Pope Benedict XVI. McCarrick was a prominent figure in the church’s response to the Catholic abuse scandals.

Numerous journalists, including Rod Dreher and Julia Duin, are now recounting how, in following up long-standing rumors about McCarrick when the scandals broke in the early 2000s, they contacted victims who refused to speak publicly about their experiences.