WASHINGTON — The former archbishop of Washington, who’s being investigated by the church amid allegations he sexually abused boys and men over several decades, is now living with a group of Franciscan friars in Kansas.
In a release sent Friday morning, the Archdiocese of Washington announced Theodore McCarrick, who served as archbishop of Washington from 2000 to 2006, is residing at the St. Fidelis Friary in Victoria, Kansas.
In late July, after the allegations of sexual misconduct with boys and men surfaced, Pope Francis ordered McCarrick to withdraw from all public events and to conduct a “life of prayer and penance,” at a yet-to-be-determined location as the church investigated claims McCarrick fondled an altar boy in the 1970s. Since then, several other men have come forward alleging abuse.
The church said it will examine the allegations in a canonical trial.
Separately, the current archbishop of Washington, Cardinal Donald Wuerl is facing intense criticism over his handling of sex abuse allegations by Catholic clergy in Pennsylvania when Wuerl was bishop there nearly 30 years ago.
The friary where McCarrick is now living is made of what are known as Capuchin Franciscan friars, known for their devotion to contemplative prayer and what the church calls “rigorous austerity.”
