Today, the Vatican released an unprecedented, 400-page report on who exactly knew how much about McCarrick’s misconduct and how he was able to rise through the ranks.
The president of the U.S. bishops said the findings mark “another tragic chapter in the church's long struggle to confront the crimes of sexual abuse by clergy.”
Vatican-U.S. relations have grown increasingly strained in recent years, but the election of Joe Biden has prompted hopes for improved diplomatic ties.
The Vatican has imposed sanctions on a prominent Polish cardinal, retired Archbishop Henryk Gulbinowicz, after he was accused of sexually abusing a seminarian and of covering up abuse in another case.