WASHINGTON (DC)
NBC Channel 4
January 10, 2019
By Gina Cook
According to new reports, Cardinal Donald Wuerl knew of sexual abuse allegations against ex-cardinal Theodore McCarrick more than a decade ago — despite Wuerl’s statement last summer that he had no knowledge of the allegations.
The Washington Post reports Wuerl reported an allegation of misconduct by McCarrick to the Vatican in 2004.
Robert Ciolek, a former priest who reached a settlement with the church in 2005 for alleged abuse involving McCarrick and other clerics, told the Post the Pittsburgh Diocese has a file that shows Wuerl brought his complaint to a Vatican ambassador.
In a statement to NBC News, the Archdiocese of Washington confirmed that Ciolek “was allowed to review the file regarding his Pittsburgh complaint” and that the “Diocese of Pittsburgh and then-Bishop Wuerl acted appropriately in addressing his complaints.”
“Cardinal Wuerl has attempted to be accurate in addressing questions about Archbishop McCarrick. His statements previously referred to claims of sexual abuse of a minor by Archbishop McCarrick, as well as rumors of such behavior,” the archdiocese said. “The Cardinal stands by those statements, which were not intended to be imprecise.”
Wuerl resigned as archbishop in October amid a storm of criticism after a Pennsylvania grand jury report said he allowed priests accused of sexually abusing children to be reassigned or reinstated when he was the bishop of Pittsburgh.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.