VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican has taken testimony from a man who says ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick sexually abused him for years starting when he was 11, evidence that the initial case against the retired archbishop has expanded to include serious allegations of sexual misconduct, including in the confessional.
James Grein testified Thursday in New York before the judicial vicar for the New York City archdiocese, who was asked by the Holy See to take his statement, said Grein’s civil attorney Patrick Noaker.
The testimony, which lasted about an hour, was difficult and stressful but Grein was proud to have done it, Noaker said.
“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,” Noaker said in a telephone interview Friday.
Grein initially came forward in July after the New York archdiocese announced that a church investigation determined that an allegation that McCarrick had groped another teenage altar boy in the 1970s was credible.
Grein’s claims, first reported by The New York Times, are more serious. He has alleged that McCarrick, a family friend, first exposed himself to Grein when he was 11 and then sexually molested him for years thereafter.
Noaker said in his testimony Thursday, Grein also gave “chilling” details about alleged repeated incidents of groping during confession — a serious canonical crime on top of the original offense of sexually abusing a minor.
Noaker said combining sexual abuse with confession haunts Grein today.
The testimony, which lasted about an hour, was difficult and stressful but Grein was proud to have done it, Noaker said.
“People are vulnerable in the confessional. Very vulnerable,” he said. “If you manipulate that, and try to sexualize that, it’s extremely emotionally damaging.”
McCarrick denied the initial groping allegation of the altar boy and has said through his lawyer that he looks forward to his right to due process. It wasn’t clear when his testimony would be given.
The McCarrick scandal has sparked a crisis in credibility in the U.S. and Vatican hierarchies, since it was apparently an open secret in some church circles that “Uncle Ted” slept with adult seminarians. Yet McCarrick still rose to the heights of church power, and even acted as the spokesman for U.S. bishops when they enacted a “zero tolerance” policy against sexually abusive priests in 2002.
Pope Francis initially ordered McCarrick removed from public ministry in June after he was accused of groping the teenage altar boy — the first known allegation against him involving a teen. A month later, after former seminarians and Grein came forward, Francis removed McCarrick as a cardinal and ordered him to live a lifetime of penance and prayer while the canonical process ran its course.
Now 88, the former archbishop of Washington is living at a Kansas religious residence.
The Vatican is under pressure to finalize its case against McCarrick before Francis hosts church leaders at a February sex abuse prevention summit, since Francis himself has been implicated in the yearslong cover-up of McCarrick’s misconduct with adults.
Noaker said in his testimony Thursday, Grein also gave “chilling” details about alleged repeated incidents of groping during confession — a serious canonical crime on top of the original offense of sexually abusing a minor.
While victims have long complained about the way they have been treated during canonical proceedings, Noaker praised the judicial vicar, the Rev. Richard Welch, saying he was compassionate, respectful and patient during Grein’s testimony.
Noaker said Welch gave Grein time to compose himself when he testified about an incident in which McCarrick allegedly masturbated Grein in a car. When McCarrick dropped Grein back at home, he allegedly told Grein’s parents that the mess was caused by a spilled soda, so Grein’s mother went to clean up the car seat.
“That was a really psychologically damaging moment,” Noaker said, adding that Grein had to relive it during his testimony. “He closed his eyes. He was sitting in that car with McCarrick, and you could see it. It was moving and terrifying.”
The Associated Press does not identify people who say they have been victims of sexual assault unless they grant permission. Grein has gone public with his full name.
In addition to the canonical case against McCarrick, Noaker filed a police report against McCarrick in July.
Sadly, McCarrick's sex with multiple seminarians and priests, over decades, was not taken as seriously as his abuse of teenage boys. It might even have been an enabling factor in his rise up the hierarchy. Some apologists say there is no connection whatsoever between same-sex attraction or SS activity among adults (consensual or coerced) and homosexual abuse of teenage boys (the 80% problem). But, McCarrick is exhibit A of a connection. If it is true that most priests with SSA are celibate, then God bless them. But, are they as able to correct their brethren who are sexually active or even abusers? Are they open to embarrassment or blackmail? Or worse, do they cover for the activists or enable them? Are they good teachers of the Catechism in its fullness or are they passive or active dissenters? Pope Francis's recent remarks on the inherent conflict between a gay mentality & the priesthood suggest he belatedly but finally understands this now. http://www.ncregister.com/blog/msgr-pope/a-ray-of-light-the-popes-warning-about-homosexuals-in-the-clergy
I want to thank Mr. Green for his brave testimony. May the Spirit bring you peace.
you write good stuff Nicole, but just one correction--the Pope did not "remove McCarrick as a Cardinal"-- McCarrick was allowed to resign first in July, then the Pope stripped him of his duties. In no way can this be construed as Francis "firing" McCarrick.
I am interested in the truth about all allegations of sexual abuse and their resolution, in particular how and why Pope JP II promoted McCarrick to Cardinal after many US Bishops and Cardinals knew about his decades-long sexual abuse and the fact that the Apostolic Nuncio to the US also knew about it as well.