Pope defrocks ex-cardinal Theodore McCarrick for sexual abuse

The former archbishop of Washington Theodore McCarrick has been defrocked after a disciplinary panel found him guilty of soliciting sex from adults and minors.

The former archbishop of Washington Theodore McCarrick has been defrocked. Source: AP

The Vatican says the former archbishop of Washington, Theodore McCarrick, has been defrocked after a disciplinary panel found him guilty of soliciting sex from adults and minors.

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith found him "guilty" of "solicitation in the Sacrament of Confession, and sins against the Sixth Commandment with minors and with adults, with the aggravating factor of the abuse of power," a Vatican statement said on Saturday.

A disciplinary panel found the former cardinal guilty of soliciting sex from adults and minors. Source: AP

McCarrick, 88, was one of the most influential leaders of the US Catholic Church. Decades-old allegations against him of sexual misconduct were made public last year, triggering a major scandal in which Pope Francis was embroiled.

Francis was accused by a former Vatican ambassador to the US of actively covering up McCarrick's misdeeds, but there is no evidence for this.

Then-Archbishop of Washington DC, Cardinal Theodore McCarrick is received by then-Pope John Paul II in 2003. Source: AP

McCarrick's expulsion from the clergy comes a few days before the Pope hosts a summit on the prevention of child abuse.