Prominent Catholic cardinal resigns amid sex abuse allegations

Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Theodore McCarrick on Saturday, seeing the prominent cardinal and former archbishop of Washington, D.C., step down amid a furor of sex abuse allegations.

The American Catholic Church in June deemed credible an accusation that McCarrick abused a teenager about 50 years ago, and since then multiple other accusers have come forward. McCarrick denies all memory of the situation involving the teenager and has not commented on the other allegations.

Other cardinals who have been similarly accused have retained their office and title amid church discipline. In this case, McCarrick will remain a priest but will not be permitted to say public Mass. The pope ordered him into seclusion "for a life of prayer and penance until the accusations made against him are examined in a regular canonical trial."

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Meanwhile, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Friday approved publication of a 900-page grand jury report on more than 300 "predator priests." The grand jury will name the priests in question and "describe their conduct in terms of 'what they did — both the sex offenders and those who concealed them[,] . . . shin[ing] a light on their conduct, because that is what the victims deserve,'" the report says. However, some of the names will be redacted.