Canonical McCarrick inquiry: Victim testifies in New York

By Alessandro Gisotti

James Grein, a man from the US state of Virginia who claims to have been abused over the course of several years by Theodore E. McCarrick, former archbishop of Washington, gave testimony on Thursday to the judicial vicar of the Archdiocese of New York. The investigation was opened by mandate of the Holy See through the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which has collected testimony through a delegate who is also an official of the Archdiocese of New York. Grein, who claims to have been abused since the age of 11, also made a statement to the Associated Press through his lawyer, Patrick Noaker. “He wants his church back. He felt that in order to accomplish that end, he had to go in and testify here and tell them what happened, and give the church itself the chance to do the right thing.”

Pope Francis suspended McCarrick in July

Following the publication of accusations of sexual abuse against former Archbishop Theodore Edgar McCarrick, Pope Francis accepted his resignation as cardinal on July 28^th. He also “ordered his suspension from the exercise of any public ministry, along with the obligation to remain in a house” for “a life of prayer and penance, until the accusations made against him are clarified by the regular canonical process.”

Vatican communique on investigations in October

Subsequently, on 6 October, a press release from the Holy See Press Office reported that, in September 2017, the Archdiocese of New York had “reported to the Holy See that a man was accusing then-Cardinal McCarrick of having abuse him in the 1970s.” Pope Francis, the communique continues, “arranged for an in-depth investigation into the matter, which was carried out by the Archdiocese of New York. After its conclusion, the relevant documentation was transmitted to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.”