DC Cardinal Accused of Sexual Abuse Passes Away
Theodore McCarrick, Removed in 2019, Never Faced a Criminal Trial
Ex-cardinal Theodore McCarrick faced serious sexual abuse claims from at least 12 minors. This information comes from sources before the Vatican removed him from the clergy.
Before Pope Francis removed McCarrick from the ministry in 2019, he was one of America’s most powerful Catholic cardinals. He led the Archdiocese of Washington from 2000 to 2006, during which time multiple survivors came forward.
His fame and status hid a long history of sexual abuse against minors that started in the 1970s.
The Yost Legal Group believes survivors. Our compassionate sexual assault lawyers and legal team are here to listen.
If you are a sexual abuse survivor and were sexually molested by a priest in Maryland, contact our clergy abuse lawyers.
Standing Up For Survivors of Church Sexual Abuse Against Minors
In February 2025, the Maryland Supreme Court upheld the Child Victims Act. The Yost Legal Group continues to fight for justice for those who have faced institutional sexual abuse.
We are currently representing hundreds of survivors. They all have credible claims against various institutions, including the Archdiocese of Washington.
Call us for a free and confidential consultation with a sexual abuse lawyer. Call or text The Yost Legal Group at 410-659-6800 today.
We will listen to you and provide support. An attorney for sexual abuse will hold the Archdiocese of Washington accountable. You may seek justice for the harm caused by the clergy.
Maryland vs. DC: How Child Victims Laws Differ for Abuse Survivors
The District of Columbia does not have a Maryland Child Victims Act. This act removed the time limit for childhood sexual abuse survivors. The 2018 amendment to DC’s Sexual Abuse Statute of Limitations changed the rules. Now, victims can file civil claims until they are 40 years old.
DC Law 22-311, § 12–301. Limitation of time for bringing actions, [(a)]: “(11) for the recovery of damages arising out of sexual abuse that occurred when the victim was less than 35 years of age— the date the victim attains the age of 40 years…”
Survivors of childhood sexual abuse in the District of Columbia have a deadline. They must file their claims before they turn 40. This is important to avoid losing their right to sue.
The Archdiocese of Washington operates 144 parishes across six territories. Five of those territories are within southern Maryland counties: Calvert, Charles, Montgomery, Prince George’s, and St. Mary’s.
Anyone harmed by a member of the Archdiocese of Washington as a minor, within Maryland, qualifies under Maryland’s laws and statutes.
If you were sexually abused as a minor in Maryland by a member of the Archdiocese of Washington, it does not matter how old you are now. You still have time to bring a civil case against the Church. You are not alone.
According to the most recent data from Catholic-Hierarchy.org, the Archdiocese of Washington oversees more than 680,000 worshipers. As such, given the position of power and trust, the archdiocese has a duty to protect every one of its parishioners. Especially from its own abusive clergy members.
Unfortunately, the sad reality is that the Archdiocese of Washington was negligent in its duty. They have exhibited a pattern of child sex abuse, not just with this archdiocese but with the Catholic Church in general.
Late Ex-Cardinal Theodore “Uncle Ted” McCarrick
James became a victim of sexual abuse by Father Theodore McCarrick. The sexual assault of a minor causes post-traumatic stress disorder. As a victim of sexual assault, James took legal action and filed an abuse case. Priest molestation is sexual violence and child sexual abuse.
According to James, he called himself “Uncle Ted.” His family had been close friends with Father McCarrick before James was even born.
In the spring of 1958, Father McCarrick, nearly 28 years old and just two weeks ordained, baptized James at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Tenafly, NJ.
Eleven years later, after James had moved to California with his family, the grooming began. Father McCarrick visited often. James was struggling in school and with the move. The family thought McCarrick could help.
James said the physical sexual abuse began when he was 13 years old, when the priest first touched his penis.
James would not tell anyone of his abuse by Father Theodore McCarrick until decades later. At one point, he did tell his biological uncle, who, according to James, told him “to take the secret to his grave.” His uncle and “Uncle Ted” were friends. Both are now deceased.
James may have been the first, but he was not the last. Sexual abuse in the church causes sexual assault survivors years of PTSD.
He Told His Young Victims to Call Him Uncle Ted
1969 New York Appointment. In 1969, Cardinal Terence Cooke recalled McCarrick to New York after a multi-year stint in Puerto Rico.
In the winter of 1971, John Doe was 16 years old. At that time, McCarrick was a priest in the Archdiocese of New York. Doe was a student at Cathedral Prep Seminary, wanting to become a priest.
In the sacristy at the Manhattan seminary’s cathedral, McCarrick sexually abused Doe for the first time. According to Doe’s lawyer, whenever McCarrick saw the teen, he would tell him how good-looking he was.
Then, in the winter of 1972, McCarrick cornered the boy in a bathroom: “He just came in, grabbed him, shoved his hand into his pants, and tried to get his hand into his underwear. The kid had to struggle and push him away,’ the lawyer said.”
1981 New Jersey Appointment: From there, McCarrick continued to rise through the ranks of the Catholic Church quickly. In the winter of 1981, the Church made him the first bishop of the new Diocese of Metuchen in New Jersey.
Those who knew him and observed his behavior said he was friendly with all of the seminarians he was in charge of. Still, he did play favorites:
From Newark to New York: The Dark Legacy of Archbishop McCarrick
Beach House Visits: “[McCarrick] would invite a few he especially favored to overnight stays at a beach house in Sea Girt, NJ”
Mr. Ciolek, a young seminarian who got those beach house invites, told The New York Times in 2018. He explained how McCarrick would “assign sleeping arrangements.” He would choose one guest each night to share his room, which had one large bed.
Ciolek also detailed how McCarrick would initiate contact with the young men’s lower backs or thighs, much to some people’s disgust.
Another seminarian from the Sea Girt trips shared more details about McCarrick’s abuses in the 1980s. This person asked to remain unnamed. This was during his rapid rise to power.
1986 Newark NJ: In the spring of 1986, Pope John Paul II made Bishop McCarrick the Archbishop of Newark. This diocese was one of the largest in the country, with over one million Catholic parishioners.
The “Beach House Doe,” however, would be sexually abused by McCarrick in 1987 in a small New York City apartment above a hospital, according to reporting by The Times in 2018:
The “Beach House Doe’s” former priest’s file also included handwritten notes from McCarrick, which he signed “Uncle Ted” or “Uncle T.”
With Warnings Ignored, McCarrick Continues Ascent
Mr. Ciolek was a young seminarian. McCarrick made him share a bed during beach house visits. Ciolek “trusted … confided in … [and] admired” McCarrick. McCarrick used his power to take advantage of young, impressionable, and vulnerable boys and young men like Ciolek.
McCarrick also used the intimate knowledge he had gained from Ciolek to keep him further under his thumb. Ciolek revealed to McCarrick that he was a survivor of sexual abuse by a teacher in his Catholic high school.
Instead of giving the vulnerable young person advice and guidance, McCarrick retraumatized him repeatedly.
The handwritten letters in Ciolek’s former priest’s file also revealed that “Uncle Ted” referred to the members of his young beach house overnight trips as “nephew.” Per one letter, McCarrick wrote to Ciolek in the late ’80s:
“I just wanted to tell you how glad I am that we had the chance to get together this summer. It wasn’t as often as I would have liked, but I know how ‘social’ my nephew is!”
It is not illogical to surmise that even if Ciolek had come forward back then, the Church would have ignored him.
Your Voice Matters: Confidential Support for Survivors of Abuse
“Beach House Doe” filed the first documented complaint against McCarrick, giving his confession in the process.
He wrote a letter to the new bishop at Metuchen, the one who succeeded McCarrick, revealing that the archbishop had “inappropriately touched him and other seminarians in the 1980s.”
“Beach House Doe” went on to reveal that the instances of sexual abuse he survived and the trauma they caused “triggered him to touch two 15-year-old boys inappropriately.” He did something wrong. He needed to confess.
For his troubles, the Church put the then-priest in therapy and transferred him to a new parish—standard practice. There is little evidence to suggest they spoke with McCarrick after receiving “Beach House Doe’s” complaint.
Empowering Survivors to Seek Justice, One Story at a Time
In this case, there was no accountability. Instead, in 1995, the Church gave McCarrick the honor of hosting Pope John Paul II during his visit to Newark. The archbishop was also responsible for leading a large public mass for the pope’s visit.
A few years later, Mr. Ciolek received a surprise call. It was from the office of the Metuchen diocese. McCarrick’s former secretary from Metuchen wanted to meet with Ciolek.
At this meeting, the former secretary asked Ciolek directly if he had any plans to sue the diocese. He even mentioned McCarrick by name.
“‘ And I literally laughed, and I said, no,’ Mr. Ciolek said, adding that the monsignor responded with a sigh of relief.”
Within a year, Pope John Paul II promoted Archbishop McCarrick. He left his station in Newark to lead the Archdiocese of Washington. Three months after that, they appointed McCarrick as a cardinal.
All of this happened despite a warning from a priest in New Jersey. The NJ priest had heard several first-hand accounts from seminarians about the sexual abuses by McCarrick. Many committed against underage boys at his beach house.
Despite a direct phone call with the pope’s representative and a written letter submitted to the Vatican, the priest never received a response.
If you or a loved one is the survivor of sexual abuse by a member of the Archdiocese of Washington, you may have a case. The experienced clergy sexual abuse lawyers at The Yost Legal Group are here to help you seek the justice you deserve. Contact us today for a free and confidential consultation: 1-800-YOST-LAW.
Warnings Dismissed: McCarrick’s Presence at the Heart of the Vatican
In 2002, the pope, who would pass away just three years later, summoned McCarrick and other cardinals to help manage the Church’s PR crisis as reports of sexual abuse within the Church reached a fever pitch.
He was a voting member of the papal conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI after John Paul II’s passing in 2005.
In 2006, McCarrick retired as the archbishop of Washington. He was 75, the traditional retirement age for bishops. He remained a highly regarded cardinal.
In 2013, he participated in the cardinals’ meetings held before the conclave that elected Pope Francis.
Though he was active in major Vatican events and served as a leader in many high-profile funerals in DC, McCarrick seemed to have receded from the public eye.
As an “unofficial ambassador,” the Vatican sent him around the world to East Asian and the Middle East, regions where the Church couldn’t necessarily send “official ambassadors.”
A quiet life of travel and meetings could not last forever for McCarrick. His past and the renewed focus on the Catholic Church’s crimes in the 2010s made that impossible.
The Price of Silence: McCarrick’s Influence in the Catholic Church
In the spring of 2018, McCarrick (then 87) released a statement announcing his retirement from the College of Cardinals after advice from the Church.
Months prior, the Church had received another credible claim from a John Doe. The claim stated that McCarrick committed sexual abuse. John Doe said he was 16 in 1971 at Cathedral Prep Seminary in New York.
In July 2018, the pope accepted McCarrick’s resignation. He ordered him to commit to “a life of prayer and penance in seclusion.”
Seven months later, in February 2019, the Vatican defrocked McCarrick. To date, he is still the highest-ranking member of the Catholic Church expelled for sexual abuse.
McCarrick was found guilty by a church tribunal. The Vatican’s official statement read that the former cardinal was guilty of the following:
“solicitation in the Sacrament of Confession and sins against the Sixth Commandment with minors and with adults, with the aggravating factor of the abuse of power.”
The Catholic Church made its full 461-page report on ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick public in November 2020. This occurred nearly two years after they removed him from the ministry.
Somehow, despite over 30 years of allegations, rumors, and whispers, the Church found the pervasiveness of McCarrick’s abuses surprising.
“I have blown the whistle for 30 years and got nowhere,” said the New Jersey priest. He contacted the Vatican before McCarrick became a cardinal. The justice system failed so many young boys against sexual harassment and physical injury.
Confidential Support for Survivors of Clergy Abuse—We’re Here for You
Theodor McCarrick died on April 3, 2025. He was 94 years old. McCarrick has a long history of sexually abusing minors and adults for over 30 years in the Catholic Church. Yet, he never faced any criminal charges.
We know this is a sensitive and challenging matter. Our sexual assault attorneys understand that many survivors may never want to come forward. However, at The Yost Legal Group, we want you to know that we are here for you.
Our sexual abuse attorneys are here to listen whenever you are ready to share your story. All consultations with our experienced lawyers for sexual abuse are free and confidential. Your traumatic experiences have caused significant pain and suffering in your life.
If you have allegations of sexual abuse and are ready to talk, we are here to listen. Call or text The Yost Legal Group at 410-659-6800.
The caring legal team at The Yost Legal Group has successfully sued the Archdiocese of Baltimore. They are helping survivors get settlements. If you or a loved one is a survivor, it is important to speak with a legal professional soon. Call or text The Yost Legal Group today at 410-659-6800.
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