Bishops request Vatican investigation as abuse crisis grows

NEW YORK — Responding to what it calls a “moral catastrophe,” the leading body of U.S. Catholic leaders said Thursday it would ask the Vatican to investigate the scandal involving a former cardinal who allegedly engaged in sexual misconduct with children and adult seminarians.

The request by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops for an investigation into the actions of Theodore McCarrick came as the Vatican expressed “shame and sorrow” over a grand jury investigation this week that found rampant sexual abuse of more than 1,000 children by about 300 priests is six Pennsylvania dioceses over a 70-year period. Vatican spokesman Greg Burke said that victims should know “the pope is on their side.”

The Pennsylvania scandal and the damaging allegations about McCarrick — one of the most influential Catholics in the country — have engulfed the church in scandal reminiscent of what happened in Boston with clergy sex abuse in the 2000s.

The conference president, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, said a full investigation is necessary “to prevent a recurrence, and so help to protect minors, seminarians, and others who are vulnerable in the future.”

Using formal church terminology for high-level Vatican investigations, DiNardo said he would travel to Rome and ask the Vatican to conduct an “apostolic visitation” to address the McCarrick case, working in concert with a group of predominantly lay experts.

DiNardo also deplored the findings of the grand jury report and said the bishops would work to create a new process to review allegations of misconduct by bishops.