DENVER (CO)
Crux
July 30, 2018
By Christopher White
New York – Following Pope Francis’s historic decision to accept the resignation of Cardinal Theodore McCarrick from the College of Cardinals, both fellow bishops in the United States as well as survivors and advocates say it’s a step forward but there’s still a great distance to be traveled until the pledge of “zero tolerance” is fulfilled.
“The somber announcement from the Vatican this morning will impact the Catholic community of the Archdiocese of Newark with particular force,” said Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark in a statement on Saturday.
Tobin – who now holds the post McCarrick held from 1986 to 2001 – went on to add that “this latest news is a necessary step for the Church to hold itself accountable for sexual abuse and harassment perpetrated by its ministers, no matter their rank. I ask my brothers and sisters to pray for all who may have been harmed by the former Cardinal, and to pray for him as well.”
Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington, who succeeded McCarrick in 2006, spoke to WTOP, a local D.C. radio show, on Saturday, where he called the decision a “big step forward in trying to act quickly, decisively,” though he acknowledged that the “procedure isn’t concluded yet.”
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