What to Know
- The Vatican says Pope Francis has accepted U.S. prelate Theodore McCarrick's offer to resign from the College of Cardinals.
- McCarrick has been removed from public ministry since June 20, amid allegations he fondled a teenager.
- McCarrick served as Archbishop of Washington, D.C. from 2001 to 2006.
The Vatican says Pope Francis has accepted U.S. prelate Theodore McCarrick's offer to resign from the College of Cardinals.
A Saturday statement said Francis received the letter of resignation a day earlier by the former Washington, D.C. archbishop. Besides agreeing to McCarrick's stepping down as a cardinal, Francis ordered him to conduct "a life of prayer and penance" until sex abuse accusations against him are examined in a Catholic church trial.
McCarrick has been removed from public ministry since June 20, pending a full investigation into allegations he fondled a teenager over 40 years ago in New York City. A man, who was 11 at the time of the first alleged instance of abuse, says a sexually abusive relationship continued for two more decades. McCarrick has denied the initial allegation.
"The review board found the allegations credible and substantiated," Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York said in a statement at the time, News4 reported.
McCarrick was elevated to the cardinalate in 2001 and served as Archbishop of Washington from that year to 2006.
