Pope Francis on Wednesday reacted to a report on the Vatican’s investigation of sexual abuse allegations against former U.S. cardinal Theodore McCarrick, calling the issue a “painful case.’’
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Pope Francis reiterated his “closeness with victims of any kind of abuse’’ and said the Church was committed to “eradicating this evil’’ in his weekly video audience published online.
McCarrick, 90, was in 2019 labelled as a serial sexual predator by the Vatican’s disciplinary office.
He was kicked out of the clergy after being found guilty of soliciting during confession and abusing adults and minors.
Tuesday’s report, more than 400 pages long, looked into suspicions that McCarrick’s habit of sleeping with young seminarians was known for decades, but that his superiors in the U.S. and the Vatican turned a blind eye.
The report acknowledged misjudgments and missing information regarding the investigation of sexual abuse allegations in the past decades but said Pope Francis had swiftly reacted when he found out about the allegations against McCarrick.
