Diocese of Salina

SALINA, Kan. – Today, the Vatican announced that former Archbishop Theodore McCarrick has been dismissed from the clerical state. This type of dismissal is specifically known as laicization, a scenario in which a member of the clergy, through the use of the Church’s legal apparatus, is not permitted to act as a priest. He will no longer be permitted to celebrate the sacraments or exercise sacred ministry in the Church.

Last summer, Pope Francis asked that McCarrick live a life of prayer and penance until a thorough investigation of allegations against him took place.  He took residence at St. Fidelis Friary in Victoria beginning on September 28, 2018.  Mr. McCarrick will continue to reside at the St. Fidelis Friary in Victoria until a decision of permanent residence is finalized.

Bishop Gerald L. Vincke, Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Salina, said he hopes that this decision may help bring healing to all affected by sexual abuse and those hurt by this scandal.

He also expresses his gratitude to the Capuchins at St. Fidelis Friary for their charity and compassion shown to all who seek refuge in the Church, as well as the remarkable people of Victoria for their mercy in this difficult situation.

 

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has defrocked former U.S. Cardinal Theodore McCarrick after Vatican officials found him guilty of soliciting for sex while hearing confession and sexual crimes against minors and adults, the Holy See said Saturday.

McCarrick, 88, is the highest-ranking churchman to be laicized, as the process is called. It means he can no longer celebrate Mass or other sacraments, wear clerical vestments or be addressed by any religious title.

The scandal swirling around him was particularly damning to the church’s reputation in the eyes of the faithful because it apparently was an open secret that he slept with adult seminarians. Francis removed McCarrick as a cardinal in July after a U.S. church investigation determined that an allegation he fondled a teenage altar boy in the 1970s was credible.

The punishment for the once-powerful prelate, who had served as the archbishop of Washington and had been an influential fundraiser for the church, was announced five days before Francis is set to lead an extraordinary gathering of bishops from around the world to help the church grapple with the crisis of sex abuse by clergy and systematic cover-ups by church hierarchy. The decades-long scandals have shaken the faith of many Catholics and threatened Francis’ papacy.

The Vatican’s press office said that on Jan. 11, the Holy See’s doctrinal watchdog office, the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, had found McCarrick guilty of “solicitation in the sacrament of confession, and sins against the Sixth Commandment with minors and adults, with the aggravating factor of the abuse of power.” The commandment forbids adultery.

The officials “imposed on him the penalty of dismissal from the clerical state.”

McCarrick, when he was ordained a priest his native New York City in 1958, took a vow of celibacy, in accordance with church rules on priests.

The pope “has recognized the definitive nature of this decision made in accordance with (church) law, rendering it as ‘res iudicata,'” the Vatican said, using the Latin phrase for admitting no further recourse.

“Today I am happy that the pope believed me,” said one of McCarrick’s chief accusers, James Grein.

In a statement issued through his lawyer, Grein also expressed hope that McCarrick “will no longer be able to use the power of Jesus’ church to manipulate families and sexually abuse children.”

Grein had testified to church officials that, among other abuses, McCarrick had repeatedly groped him during confession.

Saying it’s “time for us to cleanse the church,” Grein said pressure needs to be put on state attorney generals and senators to change the statute of limitations. “Hundreds of priests, bishops and cardinals are hiding behind man-made law,” he said.

McCarrick moved from his Washington retirement home to a Kansas religious residence after Francis ordered him to live in penance and prayer while the investigation continued.

McCarrick’s civil lawyer, Barry Coburn, told The AP that for the time being his client had no comment. Coburn also declined to say if McCarrick was still residing at the friary in Victoria, Kansas.

McCarrick had appealed his penalty, but the doctrinal officials earlier this week rejected that, and he was notified of the decision on Friday, the Vatican announcement said.

The archdiocese of Washington, D.C., where McCarrick was posted at the pinnacle of his clerical career, from 2001-2006, said in a statement it hoped that the Vatican decision “serves to help the healing process for survivors of abuse, as well as those who have experienced disappointment or disillusionment because of what former Archbishop McCarrick has done.”

Complaints were also made about McCarrick’s conduct in the New Jersey dioceses of Newark and Metuchen, where he previously served.

It marks a remarkable downfall for the globe-trotting powerbroker and influential church fundraiser who mingled with presidents and popes but preferred to be called “Uncle Ted” by the young men he courted.

The Vatican summit, running Feb. 21-24, draws church leaders from around the world to talk about preventing abuse. It was called in part to respond to the McCarrick scandal as well as to the explosion of the abuse crisis in Chile and its escalation in the United States last year.

Despite the apparent common knowledge in church circles of his sexual behavior, McCarrick rose to the heights of church power. He even acted as the spokesman for U.S. bishops when they enacted a “zero tolerance” policy against sexually abusive priests in 2002.

That perceived hypocrisy, coupled with allegations in the Pennsylvania grand jury report detailing decades of abuse and cover-up in six dioceses, outraged many among the rank-and-file faithful who had trusted church leaders to reform how they handled sex abuse after 2002.

The allegation regarding the altar boy was the first known to involve a minor — a far more serious offense than sleeping with adult seminarians.

Francis himself became implicated in the decade-long McCarrick cover-up after a former Vatican ambassador to the U.S. accused the pope of rehabilitating the cardinal from sanctions imposed by Pope Benedict XVI despite being told of his penchant for young men.

Francis hasn’t responded to the claims. But he has ordered a limited Vatican investigation. The Vatican has acknowledged the outcome may produce evidence that mistakes were made, but said Francis would “follow the path of truth, wherever it may lead.”

Vatican watchers have compared the McCarrick cover-up scandal to that of the Rev. Marcial Maciel, perhaps the 20th-century Catholic Church’s most notorious pedophile. Maciel’s sex crimes against children were ignored for decades by a Vatican impressed by his ability to bring in donations and vocations. Among Maciel’s staunchest admirers was Pope John Paul II, who later became a saint.

Like Maciel, McCarrick was a powerful and popular prelate who funneled millions in donations to the Vatican. He apparently got a calculated pass for what many in the church hierarchy would have either discounted as ideological-fueled rumor or brushed off as a mere “moral lapse” in sleeping with adult men.

Friday Boys Scores
Andale 76, Mulvane 32
Andover 68, Newton 54
Andover Central 76, Valley Center 53
Ashland 63, Hodgeman County 51
Beloit 66, Minneapolis 53
Bennington 54, Solomon 52
Berean Academy 55, Goessel 16
Bonner Springs 69, Louisburg 49
Buhler 59, Winfield 40
Burlington 76, Osawatomie 68
Central Plains 68, Kinsley 23
Chaparral 60, Douglass 59
Cheney 58, Belle Plaine 53
Circle 81, McPherson 65
Clearwater 51, Wellington 39
Cunningham 55, Burrton 25
Deerfield 57, Wiley, Colo. 39
El Dorado 50, Augusta 46
Ellis 36, Norton 27
Ellsworth 58, Lincoln 26
Garden City 55, Hays 49
Goddard-Eisenhower 64, Goddard 47
Golden Plains 65, Palco 37
Great Bend 69, Dodge City 53
Halstead 61, Smoky Valley 57
Hays-TMP-Marian 52, Stockton 34
Hillsboro 62, Lyons 50
Hoisington 58 Larned 47
Holcomb 53, Scott City 46
Hoxie 81, Northern Valley 77
Hugoton 58, Colby 45
Hutchinson Central Christian 70, Attica 36
Hutchinson Trinity 53, Sterling 40
Inman 46, Little River 44
Kingman 70, Wichita Independent 38
Lakin 63, Syracuse 51
Lawrence 81, SM South 63
Lawrence Free State 71, SM North 59
Maize 58, Salina Central 45
Marion 59, Elyria Christian 53, OT
Medicine Lodge 52, Conway Springs 45
Minneola 63, Fowler 51
Ness City 71, Victoria 53
Nickerson 43, Hesston 39, OT
Oberlin-Decatur 58, Quinter 55
Otis-Bison 45 Ellinwood 39
Pawnee Heights 76, Ingalls 57
Plainville 57, Hill City 43
Riley County 55, Rossville 35
Rose Hill 53, Wichita Collegiate 42
Salina Sacred Heart 55, Republic County 37
Salina South 58, Hutchinson 38
Satanta 65, Bucklin 50
Smith Center 59, Trego 41
South Central 64, Spearville 46
Southeast Saline 49, Russell 37
Southwestern Hts. 69, Elkhart 54
St. John 60, Macksville 43
Stanton County 56, Meade 41
Sublette 59, Cimarron 54
Triplains-Brewster 74, Cheylin 41
Udall 64, Flinthills 43
Ulysses 58, Goodland 36
Walsh, Colo. 75, Rolla 48
Wheatland-Grinnell 47, Logan 40
Wichita Campus 67, Derby 58
Wichita East 50, Wichita West 36
Wichita Home School 71, Canton-Galva 33
Wichita Trinity 66, Garden Plain 36

POSTPONEMENTS AND CANCELLATIONS
Chase County vs. Centre, ccd.
Chase vs. Osborne, ccd.
Columbus vs. Galena, ppd. to Feb 18th.
Concordia vs. Wamego, ppd. to Feb 21st.
DeSoto vs. Lansing, ppd. to Feb 21st.
Frontenac vs. Pittsburg Colgan, ppd.
Girard vs. Baxter Springs, ppd. to Feb 21st.
Hiawatha vs. Jefferson West, ppd. to Feb 21st.
Independence vs. Fort Scott, ppd. to Feb 21st.
Labette County vs. Coffeyville, ppd.
Manhattan vs. Topeka, ppd. to Feb 18th.
Marais des Cygnes Valley vs. Central Heights, ccd.
Mill Valley vs. BV North, ccd.
Mission Valley vs. Rural Vista, ccd.
Neodesha vs. Bluestem, ccd.
Olathe West vs. Gardner-Edgerton, ppd. to Feb 21st.
Olpe vs. Remington, ccd.
Oswego vs. Chetopa, ccd.
Parsons vs. Chanute, ppd.
Pratt vs. Haven, ppd. to Feb 16th.
Riverside vs. Perry-Lecompton, ccd.
Sabetha vs. Royal Valley, ppd. to Feb 16th.
Santa Fe Trail vs. Wellsville, ppd. to Feb 18th.
Silver Lake vs. Rock Creek, ppd. to Feb 18th.
Spring Hill vs. Eudora, ccd.
Topeka Seaman vs. Emporia, ppd. to Feb 18th.
Topeka West vs. Junction City, ppd. to Feb 18th.
Wabaunsee vs. Herington, ppd. to Feb 22nd.
Yates Center vs. St. Paul, ppd.

Friday Girls Scores
Andale 61, Mulvane 39
Andover 58, Newton 53
Andover Central 53, Valley Center 23
Argonia 45, Sedan 37
Augusta 43, El Dorado 38
Beloit 51, Minneapolis 47
Berean Academy 50, Goessel 30
Bishop Miege 60, BV Southwest 42
Bucklin 79, Satanta 52
Burlington 53, Osawatomie 24
Canton-Galva 50, Wichita Home School 48
Central Plains 65, Kinsley 36
Cheney 63, Belle Plaine 19
Cheylin 42, Triplains-Brewster 13
Cimarron 57, Sublette 47
Colby 62, Hugoton 45
Conway Springs 51, Medicine Lodge 33
Cunningham 55, Burrton 25
Derby 64, Wichita Campus 27
Dodge City 69, Great Bend 27
Douglass 38, Chaparral 29
Ellsworth 47, Lincoln 13
Flinthills 54, Udall 24
Goddard 61, Goddard-Eisenhower 30
Golden Plains 55, Palco 17
Halstead 59, Smoky Valley 39
Hays 46, Garden City 35
Hays-TMP-Marian 58, Stockton 46
Hesston 41, Nickerson 36
Hillsboro 58, Lyons 38
Hoxie 53, Northern Valley 23
Hutchinson Central Christian 39, Attica/Argonia 36
Ingalls 68, Pawnee Heights 42
Inman 35, Little River 25
Lakin 39, Syracuse 38
Larned 31 Hoisington 20
Lawrence 45, SM South 43
Maize 62, Salina Central 39
Maize South 60, Arkansas City 24
Marion 34, Elyria Christian 32, OT
Marysville 57, Chapman 46
McPherson 58, Circle 47
Minneola 77, Fowler 6
Moundridge 38, Sedgwick 14
Norton 62, Ellis 28
Olathe East 52, Olathe South 45
Otis-Bison 49, Ellinwood 43
Quinter 43, Oberlin-Decatur 39
Rawlins County 47, Dighton 39
Republic County 54, Salina Sacred Heart 40
Riley County 49, Rossville 28
Rose Hill 53, Wichita Collegiate 42
Russell 51, Southeast Saline 36
Salina South 36, Hutchinson 23
Scott City 61, Holcomb 51
South Central 50, Spearville 24
South Gray 48, Kiowa County 41
Sterling 50, Hutchinson Trinity 42
Trego 57, Smith Center 43
Ulysses 49, Goodland 21
Uniontown 48, Northeast-Arma 40
University Academy, Mo. 32, KC Christian 21
Victoria 48, Ness City 37
Wellington 55, Clearwater 26
Wheatland-Grinnell 43, Logan 34
Wichita East 58, Wichita West 47
Wichita Independent 35, Kingman 34
Wichita South 45, Wichita Northwest 33
Wichita Trinity 51, Garden Plain 47, OT
Wiley, Colo. 51, Deerfield 23
Winfield 42, Buhler 38