As Rumors of Sexual Misdeeds Swirled, Cardinal Mccarrick Became a Powerful Fundraiser for the Vatican

By Michelle Boorstein
Washington Post
July 31, 2018

https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/As-rumors-of-sexual-misdeeds-swirled-Cardinal-13119614.php

Cardinal Theodore McCarrick waves to fellow bishops at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington in September 2015, during Pope Francis's visit.

When Theodore McCarrick arrived in Washingon in 2001 to be the region's Catholic archbishop, it was clear right away that he was something very rare: a celebrity priest.

The vivacious cleric reportedly had spent time with famous Americans such as Bing Crosby and the Hearst family. He was a prolific fundraiser for big-name Catholic groups from right to left, and valued for his connection to Pope John Paul II, who dispatched McCarrick to hot spots worldwide as his diplomat. President George W. Bush, also new in town that January, marked his first private dinner in Washington by going to the home of the new archbishop.

McCarrick's gilded resume stood in striking contrast to his public demeanor, that of a self-effacing do-gooder who, in a city full of egos and polish, wore rumpled clothes and exhibited a voracious drive to help others.

"I wish I were a holier man, more prayerful, more trusting in God, wiser and courageous," he said at his first D.C. news conference. "But here I am with all my faults and all my needs, and we will work together."