I shudder to think of the damage this man has done to the Catholic Church in America. How many vocations did he turn away? How many young priests did he corrupt? How many bishops did he make accessories?
NY Times: Theodore E. McCarrick, the former Roman Catholic cardinal expelled by Pope Francis in 2019, was charged on Monday with fourth-degree sexual assault in Wisconsin. It was the second criminal complaint against a man who was once one of the most high-profile clerics in the American Catholic Church.
Mr. McCarrick, now 92, is the first and only cardinal to be criminally charged in the sprawling sex abuse scandal that has consumed the church. Thousands of victims and abusers have been identified in parishes across the nation, with accusations from decades ago still being revealed in ongoing investigations.
Resulting lawsuits have pushed some dioceses to file for bankruptcy. Yet relatively few criminal charges have resulted, largely because the statute of limitations has expired, though some states are changing laws to allow for civil cases to proceed.
The new charge against Mr. McCarrick stems from an accusation dating back to 1977. According to the criminal complaint, Mr. McCarrick assaulted a 19-year-old that year at a home on Geneva Lake in southern Wisconsin, where they were both guests. Prosecutors say the victim was swimming off a dock when Mr. McCarrick and another adult man entered the water and fondled his genitals without his consent.
