Ex-Cardinal McCarrick Unfit to Stand Trial in Abuse Case

Ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick’s sexual abuse case was dismissed Wednesday after a judge in Massachusetts ruled the 93-year-old was not competent to stand trial, reports The Hill.

“[The] Commonwealth does not have a good-faith basis to proceed any longer with the prosecution given the testimony and the opinions of the psychologist that Mr. McCarrick is not restorable to competency,” the prosecutor said, moving to dismiss the charges.

McCarrick, the ex-archbishop of Washington, D.C., was charged with sexually assaulting a teenage boy decades ago. He was defrocked in 2019 by Pope Francis after an internal Vatican investigation determined he sexually molested adults as well as children.

The McCarrick scandal created a crisis of credibility for the church, primarily because there was evidence Vatican and U.S. church leaders knew he slept with seminarians but turned a blind eye as McCarrick rose to the top of the U.S. church as an adept fundraiser who advised three popes.

Dr. Kelly Nelligan, a psychiatrist hired by the prosecution, during Wednesday’s hearing said she found significant deficits in McCarrick’s memory during two interviews in June.

“It’s not just that he currently has these deficits,” Nelligan said. “There is no way they are going to get better.”

Without being able to remember discussions, he could not participate with his lawyers in his defense, she said.

McCarrick appeared via a video link during the hearing. He was slightly slumped in his chair wearing a light green shirt and what appeared to be a grey sweater vest or sweater around his shoulders. He did not speak during the hearing.

McCarrick pleaded not guilty in 2021. He still faces a sexual abuse charge in Wisconsin over claims stemming from the same victim.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.