NJ Bishops Gave Vatican 'Inaccurate' Info On McCarrick: Report

METUCHEN, NJ – Three New Jersey bishops provided the Vatican with “inaccurate and incomplete information” regarding disgraced ex-cardinal Theodore McCarrick’s sexual misconduct with young men, a new report from the Vatican concluded.

The explosive report on McCarrick was released by the Holy See on Tuesday.

McCarrick became the founding Bishop of Metuchen, New Jersey in 1981 and was named fourth Archbishop of Newark in 1986 by then Pope John Paul II. He remained in this position till 2000. A number of sexual misconduct allegations come from McCarrick’s time in New Jersey.

Although the Vatican report placed an abundance of responsibility on the shoulders of Pope John Paul II, it also blames three of four Catholic bishops in New Jersey. The bishops were not named in the report.

The 449-page report says the four Bishops were asked about the allegations against McCarrick in June 2000.

“What is now known, through investigation undertaken for the preparation of the Report, is that three of the four American bishops provided inaccurate and incomplete information to the Holy See regarding McCarrick’s sexual conduct with young adults.”

“This inaccurate information appears likely to have impacted the conclusions of John Paul II’s advisors and, consequently, of John Paul II himself,” the report goes on to say.

The report looks at the Vatican's handling of the highest-ranking American Church figure to be defrocked over sexual abuse allegations. The report comes after two years of investigation, and years of scrutiny over how McCarrick was allowed to rise through church hierarchy, despite allegations of misconduct with young men as early as the 1990s.

According to the report, at the time of McCarrick’s appointment as fifth archbishop of Washington DC, the allegations against him fell under four categories:

• From an unnamed Metuchen priest who claimed he had observed McCarrick’s attempt at engaging in sex with another priest in June 1987;
• A series of anonymous letters sent to the “National Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Apostolic Nuncio and various cardinals” accusing McCarrick of "pedophilia with his “nephews”;
• Claims that McCarrick shared a bed with young adult men in the Bishop’s residence in Metuchen and Newark;
• And claims that McCarrick was “known to have shared a bed with adult seminarians at a beach house on the New Jersey shore.”

Then New York Cardinal John O'Connor, had summarized these allegations in an Oct. 28, 1999 letter shared with John Paul II, the report states.

“Information regarding McCarrick’s conduct led to the conclusion that it would be imprudent to transfer him from Newark to another See on three occasions, namely Chicago (in 1997), New York (1999/2000) and, initially, Washington (July 2000),” said the report.

But Pope John Paul II changed his mind after the New Jersey bishops were asked about the allegations. The bishops confirmed that although McCarrick had “shared a bed with young men” it did not indicate “with certainty that McCarrick had engaged in any sexual misconduct.”

On Aug. 6 2000, McCarrick wrote a letter to then-Bishop Stanislaw Dziwisz, the pope's personal secretary, refuting the allegations against him. “In the 70 years of my life, I have never had sexual relations with any person, male or female, young or old, cleric or lay, nor have I ever abused another person or treated them with disrespect,” McCarrick wrote. The report said "McCarrick's denial was believed.”

According to the report, the Holy See at the time did not receive any direct complaint “from a victim, whether adult or minor, about McCarrick’s misconduct.”

The priest from Metuchen who reported McCarrick’s misconduct was treated as an “unreliable informant” in part “because he himself had previously abused two teenage boys.”

The disgraced prelate was raised to Cardinal in 2001 by John Paul II, a year after he became Archbishop of Washington. McCarrick then went on to become a power player in the Church and in Washington DC, known for his fundraising and influence.

He presided over funeral of Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) in 2009, and was present at the funeral Mass of President-elect Joe Biden’s son Beau in Delaware in 2015.

McCarrick resigned from the College of Cardinals in 2018.

Read More Here: Ex-NJ Catholic Church Leader McCarrick Ousted For Sex Allegations

In 2019, he was defrocked.

Other figures named in the report:

Apart from St. John Paul II, the report also names Pope Benedict XVI and Archbishop Carlo Vigano.

According to the report, after John Paul II's death in 2005, Benedict XVI requested McCarrick to step down as archbishop of Washington in 2006.

"Over the next two years, Holy See officials wrestled with how to address issues regarding Cardinal McCarrick," states the report.

Viganò, who was then an official in the Secretariat of State, wrote two memoranda - in 2006 and in 2008 - about the allegations surrounding McCarrick. The matter was taken to Benedict.

“Ultimately, the path of a canonical process to resolve factual issues and possibly prescribe canonical penalties was not taken. Instead, the decision was made to appeal to McCarrick’s conscience and ecclesial spirit by indicating to him that he should maintain a lower profile and minimize travel for the good of the Church,” said the report.

However, towards the end of Benedict's papacy, another unnamed Metuchen priest informed Viganò of a lawsuit alleging "overt sexual conduct between him and McCarrick had occurred in 1991.”

Cardinal Marc Ouellet, currently head of the Congregation for Bishops, instructed Viganò " to take certain steps, including an inquiry with specific diocesan officials” and the priest "to determine if the allegations were credible," said the report.

But "Viganò did not take these steps and therefore never placed himself in the position to ascertain the credibility of [the priest].”

“McCarrick continued to remain active, traveling nationally and internationally,” said the report.

Metuchen “appalled”, Newark commends Pope Francis’ “leadership”

The prelates of Metuchen and Newark said they are currently in the process of reading through the entire report.

“While I am grateful to Pope Francis for ordering this study to arrive at the ‘truth’ of what happened, like everyone else, I am disgusted and appalled by what has taken place,” Rev. James F. Checchio, Bishop of Metuchen said in a statement.

Cardinal Joseph Tobin from Newark Archdiocese commended Pope Francis for his leadership in finally getting the report out.

“The Report represents a significant and powerful step forward in advancing accountability and transparency regarding sexual abuse,” Tobin said in a statement.

“The Archdiocese of Newark hopes that the Report will provide insights that will help us to strengthen further our well-established programs aimed at protecting the faithful,” he said.

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