US catholic Cardinal McCarrick resigns over accusation of sexual abuse
New York, July 28 (IBNS): Prominent US catholic, Cardinal Theordore McCarrick has resigned over the accusation of sexually assaulting a teenager five decades ago, media reports said.
Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Cardinal McCarrick.
McCarrick (88), a former Archbishop of Washington, must also carry out "penance and prayer", pending a canonical trial, BBC reported.
Last month, US church officials had termed the allegations as "credible".
What are the allegations?
McCarrick has allegedly assaulted the teenager while working as a priest in New York in 1970s.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the present Archbishop of New York, made the claims public in June.
An independent forensic agency was set up to probe into the incident.
A review board consisting of legal experts, psychologists, parents and a priest, found the allegations to be "credible and substantiated".
Since then, several more men came out in public alleging that McCarrick had forced them to sleep with him at a beach house in New Jersey. The accused men said the incident occurred when they were studying for the priesthood as adult seminarians.
Cardinal McCarrick's reactions:
In a statement, McCarrick said he cannot recollect the 50-year old reported abuse of the teenager.
He preferred to remain mum on the accusations of sexually abusing men in New Jersey.
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