9-29-18 Predator McCarrick Moves to Kansas
Predator McCarrick Moves to Kansas
News: US News
Saint Fidelis Friary is run by Capuchins, an order of Franciscan friars. The Washington archdiocese said in its statement that McCarrick moved to the friary "with the permission of the Provincial Superior of the Franciscan Capuchin Community responsible for the Friary, Fr. Christopher Popravak, O.F.M.Cap., and the Bishop of Salina, Most Reverend Gerald Vincke."
Washington archdiocese announces Abp. Theodore McCarrick now lives at St. Fidelis Friary in diocese of Salina
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VICTORIA, Kan. (ChurchMilitant.com) - Disgraced ex-cardinal Theodore McCarrick has moved to the diocese of Salina in Kansas.
Earlier this year, accusations came forward that McCarrick had committed homosexual predation on seminarians and underage boys. On June 20, it was announced that McCarrick's public faculties had been suspended after a credible allegation that he molested an underage boy decades ago.
In the wake of the scandal, Pope Francis removed McCarrick from the College of Cardinals in July and assigned him to a life of prayer and penance. In August, Church Militant affiliate George Neumayr broke the news that McCarrick was living in a 5,000-square-foot residence in Washington, D.C.
In a Sept. 28 statement, the archdiocese of Washington, D.C. announced that McCarrick no longer lives in the nation's capital, explaining that he moved to live with a religious order in Kansas. The statement said, "Archbishop McCarrick now resides at St. Fidelis Friary in Victoria, Kansas in the Diocese of Salina."
Saint Fidelis Friary is run by Capuchins, an order of Franciscan friars. The Washington archdiocese said in its statement that McCarrick moved to the friary "with the permission of the Provincial Superior of the Franciscan Capuchin Community responsible for the Friary, Fr. Christopher Popravak, O.F.M.Cap., and the Bishop of Salina, Most Reverend Gerald Vincke."
The Washington archdiocese's statement concluded, "Out of consideration for the peace of the community at St. Fidelis Friary, respect for the privacy of this arrangement is requested."
Meanwhile, the Salina diocese's Bp. Vincke said in a statement Friday:
On September 13, 2018, I received a phone call from His Eminence, Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington, D.C. After brief pleasantries, he got right to the point. He asked for my permission for Archbishop Theodore McCarrick to reside at the St. Fidelis Capuchin Friary in Victoria, Kansas, to live a life of prayer and penance. Archbishop McCarrick is 88 years old. Cardinal Wuerl already received permission for this arrangement from Father Christopher Popravek, the provincial of the Capuchin Friary in Denver. I said, "yes."
Bishop Vincke anticipates blowback to his decision. He said, "I realize this decision will be offensive and hurtful to many people. Archbishop McCarrick is, in many ways, at the forefront of the recent firestorm in the Church."
But Bp. Vincke made sure to clarify, "Please know that I agreed to this arrangement with the understanding that Archbishop McCarrick is excluded from any public appearances and ministry."
"Our diocese is not incurring any cost in this arrangement," he added.
The Saline bishop's statement went on to address the ongoing clerical sex abuse scandal, saying, "This is a difficult time for the Church. This purification of the Church by God is painful, but much needed. We need the eyes of faith as we suffer through this."
This is a difficult time for the Church.
The bishop went on to apologize on behalf of the Church for the abuse crisis, and to express gratitude for the bravery of clerical sex abuse victims who have come forward with their allegations.
Bishop Vincke's statement concluded with a call for prayers:
We trust that God will bring good out of this situation [i.e. the abuse scandal]. Please join me in praying for Archbishop McCarrick as he now leads a life of prayer and penance. Most of all, let us pray for all victims of abuse so they may experience the healing presence of Jesus and the tenderness and compassion of our Blessed Mother.
Earlier this year, the shocking revelations about McCarrick's alleged homosexual predation set off a firestorm in the Catholic world. Then in August, former papal nuncio to the United States Abp. Carlo Maria Viganò released a bombshell testimony which stated that Pope Francis lifted sanctions that Pope Benedict XVI had imposed on McCarrick.
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