CNA Staff, 04 April, 2025 / 7:47 pm (ACI Africa).
Theodore McCarrick, the disgraced former cardinal and archbishop of Washington who spent decades moving in the highest circles in the Church and was later found guilty in a Vatican investigation of sexually abusing minors and adults, died April 3 at age 94.
A spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of Washington on Friday shared a statement with CNA in which Cardinal Robert McElroy confirmed McCarrick’s passing. McCarrick, who was reportedly suffering with dementia, had been living in a facility in rural Missouri.
“Today I learned of the death of Theodore McCarrick, former archbishop of Washington. At this moment I am especially mindful of those who he harmed during the course of his priestly ministry. Through their enduring pain, may we remain steadfast in our prayers for them and for all victims of sexual abuse,” McElroy said.
Ordained a priest in 1958, the New York-born McCarrick rose through the ranks of the American Church throughout the mid- to late-20th century. During his episcopal tenure he was an auxiliary bishop of New York, then led the Diocese of Metuchen, New Jersey; the Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey; and later Washington, D.C.
He was a leading participant in the development of the 2002 Dallas Charter and the USCCB Essential Norms, which established procedures for handling allegations of sexual abuse concerning priests.
