Former Catholic Church Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, now 89, doesn’t believe the Catholic sex abuse stories that victims are sharing about him, according to an interview at Slate.com.

McCarrick “created a culture of fear and intimidation,” according to an investigation ordered by Seton Hall University, which found McCarrick sexually harassed boys and men who were studying to become priests.

Now living in rural Victoria, Kan., McCarrick was once a celebrity in the world of the Catholic Church. He served as the archbishop of Washington, D.C., from 2001 through 2006. He even spoke to Meet the Press about the Church sexual abuse crisis before he became an accused perpetrator.

McCarrick was removed from public ministry by the Vatican last summer when a man who had been an altar boy in the 1970s presented credible accusations of sexual abuse. Over the course of the Church’s investigation, it became evident that some Church officials had been aware of his misconduct for many years and that two settlements had been reached over prior accusations of sexual abuse.

His defrocking marked the first time a cardinal had been removed for sexual abuse, and, according to the New York Times, it was the first time a cardinal in the U.S. had been removed from the priesthood.

In February, the Vatican issued a statement regarding McCarrick’s dismissal, saying the church found him guilty of crimes that included approaching men for sex during their confessionals and for abusing his power to commit sexual abuse.

Catholic Sex Abuse Stories Finally Believed

James G. told the New York Times that McCarrick started abusing him when he was an 11-year-old altar boy. Grein said that even though he can never recapture his childhood, he is glad that the Pope believed his version of what McCarrick did to him and that McCarrick was finally removed from power.

During his time as a bishop, McCarrick owned a beach house in Sea Girt, N.J., where he allegedly took seminarians for trips in the mid-1980s. He purportedly chose someone among those staying with him to share his bed on every excursion.

McCarrick was moved to Kansas reportedly because no other place would accept him, said Father Christopher Popravak of St. Fidelis. Popravak told Slate.com that St. Francis was gracious to lepers, who were shunned by the rest of the world. Popravak also said that everyone should be allowed to repent.

Now living in a friary in Victoria, Kan., McCarrick’s residence is not far from a public elementary school, which is unsettling to some people in the town who know of the Catholic sex abuse stories and fear his presence.

Upon his defrocking in February, McCarrick’s room and board of approximately $500 per month were no longer paid by the Archdiocese of Washington. Popravak said McCarrick offered to pay the fees out of his own savings account, but Popravak told Slate that in an attempt to show mercy, the Church declined to take McCarrick’s money.

James has filed a lawsuit against the Archdiocese of New York over the abuse he allegedly endured by McCarrick; Grein also plans to file a personal lawsuit against McCarrick when the law in New Jersey allows such a suit in December of this year.  Grein and other victims in New Jersey may also be eligible for the Catholic Church sex abuse compensation fund.

This article is not legal advice. It is presented
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