Pope John Paul II knew about allegations of sexual misconduct against Theodore McCarrick, the former archbishop of Washington D.C. who sexually abused minors and adults, but chose to ignore them and promote him anyway, a damning new report from the Vatican said on Tuesday.
As a Cardinal, McCarrick, now 90, became the highest-ranking official forced out of the priesthood in modern times last year, after Pope Francis defrocked him for sexually abusing minors and adult seminarians.
Evidence shows church officials knew about his wrongdoing for years, and last year Pope Francis ordered an investigation into how much was known, and by whom.
The result of that investigation, the report published today, says it was Pope Benedict who eventually took the allegations against McCarrick more seriously, asking him to lead a life of prayer.
Pope Francis, on the other hand, is credited with promptly removing McCarrick’s red hat and defrocking him once the allegations of sexual abuse of minors became public.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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