NEW YORK (AP) — The retired archbishop of Washington, D.C., has been removed from public ministry over allegations he sexually abused a teenager in New York more than 40 years ago.
The Roman Catholic church said Wednesday that the allegations against 87-year-old Cardinal Theodore McCarrick were found to be “credible” and that Pope Francis ordered his removal.
McCarrick said in a statement released through the church that he accepted the decision but is innocent and has no recollection of abusing anyone.
He was archbishop in Washington from 2000 to 2006 and a priest in New York from 1958 to 1981.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan said the New York archdiocese knew of no other such allegations against McCarrick.
The Newark Archdiocese, where McCarrick was a bishop, said it previously settled two allegations of sexual misconduct involving adults.
