POPE STRIPS CARDINAL OF HIS TITLE

IN a move seen as unprecedented, Pope Francis has effectively stripped US prelate Theodore McCarrick of his cardinal’s title following allegations of sexual abuse, including one involving an 11year-old boy.

The Vatican announced on Saturday that the Pope ordered McCarrick, 88, to conduct a “life of prayer and penance” before a church trial.

Breaking with past practice, Pope Francis decided to act swiftly on the resignation offered by the emeritus archbishop of Washington DC, even before the accusations are investigated by the church.

He received McCarrick’s letter offering to resign from the College of Cardinals on Friday evening, after a spate of allegations that the prelate had for years sexually abused boys and had sexual misconduct with adult seminarians.

McCarrick had already been removed from public ministry since June 20.

One alleged victim said McCarrick exposed himself to him when he was 11 and continued a sexually abusive relationship with him for more than two decades. McCarrick has not responded publicly to these accusations.

Picture: AP PHOTO US prelate Theodore McCarrick has been suspended from any public ministry by the Pope. The cardinal is accused of repeatedly sexually abusing both boys and adult seminarians.