US cardinal suspended over sex abuse claims

NEW YORK: The former archbishop of Washington, Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, has been removed from the ministry following allegations that he sexually abused a teenager nearly 50 years ago when he was a priest in New York.

McCarrick, 87, is one of the most prominent American cardinals active on the international stage, and the charges make him one of the most high-profile Catholic leaders to face allegations of abuse.

Although he has officially retired, McCarrick has continued to travel abroad regularly, including to defend human rights issues.

“This was the first such report of a violation of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People ever made against him of which the archdiocese was aware,” Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York said in a statement making the claims public for the first time on Wednesday.

Dolan said an independent forensic agency “thoroughly investigated” the allegation, which was also turned to law enforcement officials.

The Holy See was alerted and “encouraged us to continue this process,” Dolan added.

A review board that includes jurists, law enforcement experts, parents, psychologists, a priest and a religious sister then “found the allegations credible and substantiated” and the Vatican ordered McCarrick to stop exercising his priestly ministry, Dolan said. — AFP