Fri Apr 04 19:50:00 UTC 2025: ## Former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, Stripped of Priesthood After Abuse Allegations, Dies at 94
**Washington, D.C.** – Theodore Edgar McCarrick, the former archbishop of Washington and the highest-ranking American Catholic official to be defrocked following allegations of sexual abuse, died Friday at the age of 94. The death was confirmed by Cardinal Robert W. McElroy, the current archbishop of Washington, though no further details were released.
McCarrick, who ascended to prominent positions within the Catholic Church, faced accusations in 2018 of sexually abusing minors and seminarians. A subsequent Vatican investigation substantiated claims of abuse, leading Pope Francis to remove him from the College of Cardinals, strip him of his priesthood, and reduce him to the status of a layman. The allegations, while shocking, were not entirely unprecedented, given the Church’s long history of sexual abuse scandals and resulting payouts to victims.
While McCarrick resigned his ministry at the direction of Pope Francis, he maintained his innocence and claimed no memory of the alleged abuse, which included the molestation of a teenage altar server in the 1970s. He cooperated with the Church’s investigation and did not contest its findings, expressing remorse for the pain caused. His death comes years after suffering a heart attack in 2013, requiring the implantation of a pacemaker. McCarrick’s involvement in shaping the Church’s response to its own sexual abuse crisis adds a layer of complexity to his legacy.
First Piper 