Cardinal Wuerl Says He Forgot He Was Told About McCarrick Harrassment
Powerful D.C. cardinal denied he had ever been told about sex-abuse allegations against Cardinal Theodore McCarrick.

Alessandro Bianchi/REUTERS / Reuters
Embattled Washington, D.C. Cardinal Donald Wuerl says he simply forgot that he had been told about sexual-abuse allegations against powerful American Cardinal Theodore McCarrick back in 2004, and that he informed the Vatican during the waning days of Pope John Paul II’s papacy. Wuerl resigned as archbishop of D.C. after he was accused of not doing enough to manage systemic clerical sex abuse and coverups. He was named more than 200 times in a damning Pennsylvania report on abuse last summer. On Tuesday evening, Wuerl apologized to Father Robert Ciolek, who had flagged the credible allegations that McCarrick had abused an 11-year-old boy in 2004. After Ciolek published evidence, Wuerl said he genuinely forgot about the matter. “There was never the intention to provide false information,” he wrote.
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.
