Disgraced former cardinal Theodore McCarrick, whose attorneys have argued he should not stand trial due to "progressive and irreparable cognitive deficits," recalled the name of the man he allegedly sexually abused as a child, although he denied the sexual assaults.

As Theodore McCarrick faces criminal charges for alleged sexual abuse of a 16-year-old boy, the disgraced former cardinal's legal defense team is now claiming he is in steep mental and physical decline and therefore not able to stand trial.

WASHINGTON -- Former Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick pleaded not guilty Sept. 3 in a Massachusetts court, where he is facing three counts of sexually assaulting a teenager in the 1970s.

In the weeks since the Vatican released its report regarding disgraced former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the blame game has been in full swing.

The acceptance of serious allegations swallowed up without proof is an age-old problem. It is also dangerous.

Rosa Parks, a poor, humble black woman, sparked the civil rights movement when she refused to relinquish her seat on a bus to a white person in Birmingham, Ala., in 1955. Moses, another introvert, was led by God to go to the Egyptian pharaoh and seek his people’s freedom. Lech Walesa, an electrician, organized illegal protests in the Gdansk, Poland, shipyard throughout the 1970s. He was arrested numerous times, fired from several jobs and placed under constant surveillance. His efforts bore fruit in the Solidarity trade union which led to the collapse of Eastern European communism.

WASHINGTON -- The recently released report on former cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, describing his ascent to highest rungs of the Church, even amid rumours of abuse, reads like a list of the seven deadly sins, a bishop told the U.S. Conference Catholic Bishops’ fall assembly.

VATICAN CITY -- After the Vatican released its extensive report on Theodore E. McCarrick, Pope Francis renewed the Catholic Church's pledge to uproot the scourge of sexual abuse.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Although dogged for years by rumors of sexual impropriety, Theodore E. McCarrick was able to rise up the Catholic hierarchical structure based on personal contacts, protestations of his innocence and a lack of church officials reporting and investigating accusations, according to the Vatican report on the matter.

WASHINGTON -- Vatican officials announced Nov. 6 that the Holy See will release Nov. 10 a long-awaited report on the investigation about the ascent to power of now-disgraced former U.S. Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick.

VATICAN CITY -- Bishop Joseph E. Strickland of Tyler, Texas, said he asked Pope Francis about the Vatican investigation into Theodore E. McCarrick and the release of a promised report on how the former cardinal managed to rise through the church ranks.

WASHINGTON -- Theodore McCarrick, the former cardinal who was laicized by the Vatican in 2019 after numerous claims of abuse by him were substantiated, moved Jan. 3 from the Capuchin Franciscan friary in Kansas where he had been living since late 2018.

WASHINGTON -- Two popes and multiple priests, cardinals and archbishops received part of $600,000 in financial gifts from former Washington Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, who controlled a discretionary fund, according to a report published Dec. 27 by The Washington Post.

NEWARK, N.J. -- A day after a New Jersey victims' rights law went into effect, a 37-year-old man represented by Minnesota attorney Jeff Anderson has filed a lawsuit against Theodore McCarrick, a former cardinal who was Newark's archbishop from 1986 to 2000.

BALTIMORE, Md. (CNA) -- Advisory bodies to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops called Tuesday for the bishops to urge the Holy See to make public all documentation related to the misconduct of Theodore McCarrick, in accord with canon and civil law.