The McCarrick Report

On November 10, 2020, the Vatican's Secretariat of State released a report on its two-year investigation into the career of former cardinal Theodore McCarrick, who has been found canonically guilty of serial sexual abuse and misconduct, and was laicized in 2019.

The Latest

The late Cardinal Agostino Cacciavillan.

Cardinal Cacciavillan, former nuncio to the US, has died

Mar 5, 2022

By Courtney Mares

Pope Francis is expected to attend Cardinal Cacciavillan’s funeral, which will be held in St. Peter’s Basilica on the morning... Read more

Pope John Paul II, pictured in 1992.

St. John Paul II: 1,700 professors respond to ‘wave of accusations’ against Polish pope

Dec 12, 2020

Hundreds of Polish professors have signed an appeal defending St. John Paul II following criticism in the wake of the... Read more

Theodore McCarrick before his laicization.

The McCarrick Report: A timeline

Nov 21, 2020

By CNA Staff

Published by the Vatican Nov. 10, the report examines the “institutional knowledge and decision-making” regarding Theodore McCarrick, the former cardinal... Read more

Pope John Paul II at prayer in 1991.

Polish Catholic university defends St. John Paul II against ‘slander’ in wake of McCarrick Report

Nov 17, 2020

A Polish Catholic university rejected Saturday claims that St. John Paul II failed to combat clerical abuse.  Read more

Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore offers remarks during the 2020 virtual meeting of the U.S. bishops' conference.

Bishops call for prayer, fasting and reform as USCCB discusses McCarrick Report

Nov 17, 2020

By Ed Condon

U.S. bishops called for prayer, fasting, and reform during a virtual discussion Monday on the Vatican’s McCarrick Report, which was... Read more

Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Atlanta.

Archbishop Gregory calls for 'transparency and contrition' after McCarrick Report

Nov 16, 2020

Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Washington, D.C., called for transparency after the Vatican’s release of the McCarrick Report last week.  Read more

Cardinal Donald Wuerl. CNA file photo

McCarrick Report at odds with Cardinal Wuerl’s claims of ignorance 

Nov 13, 2020

By Matt Hadro

The McCarrick Report sheds new light on when former Archbishop of Washington, Cardinal Donald Wuerl, knew of allegations made against... Read more

Archbishop Stanisław Gądecki, president of the Polish bishops’ conference, pictured Jan. 15, 2018.

McCarrick Report: St. John Paul II was deceived about ex-cardinal, says Polish archbishop

Nov 13, 2020

The McCarrick Report showed that St. John Paul II was deceived about the disgraced ex-cardinal, the president of the Polish... Read more

Archbishop Carlo Viganò.

In interview with Raymond Arroyo, Viganò denies accusations from McCarrick Report

Nov 12, 2020

Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, who served as apostolic nuncio to the United States from 2011 to 2016, has denied claims... Read more

Analysis: After McCarrick Report, embracing the cross

Nov 11, 2020

By JD Flynn

How will ordinary Catholics respond to the disappointment of the McCarrick Report?  Read more

Theodore McCarrick.

Did McCarrick use charitable fund to settle abuse claim?

Nov 11, 2020

By Ed Condon

The McCarrick Report notes that McCarrick contributed thousands of dollars to settle an abuse claim, with the money likely coming... Read more

CNA file photo.

'We need to look this evil in the eye' - Clergy abuse survivors respond to McCarrick Report

Nov 11, 2020

By Jonah McKeown

After the Nov. 10 release of the Vatican's McCarrick Report, some survivors of clerical abuse told CNA they remain skeptical... Read more

A former KGB prison in Vilnius, Lithuania.

The McCarrick Report's provocative tale of a KGB encounter, and an FBI request

Nov 10, 2020

By Kevin J. Jones

An undercover KGB agent tried to befriend ex-cardinal Theodore McCarrick in the early 1980s, prompting the FBI to ask the... Read more

Theodore McCarrick.

McCarrick Report: When one mother had to speak up

Nov 10, 2020

By Christine Rousselle

In the early 1970s, a New York family met a priest. He came to dinner, he came to birthday parties.... Read more

Then-cardinal Theodore McCarrick at the Pontifical North American College in Rome, April 2005. Marco Di Lauro/Getty Images

McCarrick Report: American Catholics urge ‘truth and transparency’

Nov 10, 2020

By Matt Hadro

The release of the McCarrick Report Tuesday has been given a cautious welcome by lay American Catholics, who urged continued... Read more

Theodore McCarrick.

McCarrick Report: What Cardinal O’Connor said in 1999

Nov 10, 2020

By Courtney Mares

The Vatican’s report on Theodore McCarrick released Tuesday includes a letter written by an American cardinal in 1999, who objected... Read more

Theodore McCarrick, at the North American College April 5, 2005, ahead of a papal conclave after the death of John Paul II.

JPII biographer says 'pathological' McCarrick 'lied to’ the pope

Nov 10, 2020

By Ed Condon

George Weigel, Distinguished Senior Fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center and a biographer of St. John Paul II, told... Read more

Archbishop Jose Gomez leads a "virtual rosary" Oct. 7.

McCarrick Report documents ‘tragic chapter’ in Church’s life, USCCB president says

Nov 10, 2020

The president of the U.S. bishops’ conference said Tuesday morning that bishops will be studying the McCarrick Report issued by... Read more

Former cardinal Theodore McCarrick.

McCarrick Report: Catholics ‘shocked, saddened, scandalized and angered,’ US bishops say

Nov 10, 2020

The Catholic bishops of the United States expressed their renewed desire for healing Tuesday, following the Vatican’s release of a... Read more

Theodore McCarrick talks with other church leaders at the Spring meeting of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops June 15, 2005 in Chicago, Illinois.

McCarrick Report: Vatican details McCarrick's career and decades of sexual misconduct

Nov 10, 2020

By Hannah Brockhaus

The Vatican’s Secretariat of State published Tuesday a report on Theodore McCarrick, saying that the Holy See had received inaccurate... Read more