CW: This article discusses clerical sexual assault. Please refer to the end of the article for on- and off-campus resources.

Former Washington, D.C. Archbishop and Georgetown University honorary degree recipient Theodore McCarrick, 92, is facing his second criminal case for the sexual assault of a teenage boy in 1977.

Wisconsin prosecutors charged McCarrick on April 17 with one count of fourth-degree sexual assault over accusations that he fondled an 18-year-old man without his consent at a residence in Lake Geneva, Wis., in 1977. The incident is allegedly just one instance of McCarrick’s repeated sexual abuse of the survivor — to whom the archbishop was a family friend — that began when the survivor was 11 years old, according to a Vatican report on the ex-cardinal. 

McCarrick is the first cardinal in the United States to be criminally charged with a sexual offense against a minor and is the highest-ranking clerical official to be removed from the priesthood over sexual misconduct. After a 2019 church investigation found him guilty of sexually abusing minors and adult seminaries, Pope Francis expelled McCarrick from the priesthood.

Georgetown awarded McCarrick an honorary degree in December 2004 for his humanitarian work as archbishop of Washington, D.C. McCarrick also engaged with the university through events, including an August 2009 discussion with students on global development and peacemaking efforts. 

The university later revoked the distinction in light of the allegations against McCarrick, marking the first time in history that Georgetown rescinded an honorary degree, according to a university spokesperson.

“In 2019 Georgetown announced its decision to rescind the honorary degree granted to Theodore McCarrick in 2004 after the Vatican concluded its investigation and dismissed him from the priesthood,” a university spokesperson wrote to The Hoya. 

Though honorary degrees are awarded for life, Georgetown retains the right to rescind the recognition if an individual fails to uphold its values of advancing the common good, according to university policy that the spokesperson shared with The Hoya. 

“Awardees reflect the values and personify the mission of the University,” the policy reads. “If at any time during the life of an awardee the University becomes aware of documented evidence of criminal, unethical or immoral behavior or activity, the University has the right to rescind the honorary degree.”

The survivor in the April 17 charges also filed a complaint in 2021, after which Massachusetts prosecutors charged McCarrick with three counts of indecent assault and battery for molesting the then-16-year-old survivor at a wedding reception in 1974. McCarrick’s attorneys filed for dismissal, arguing that McCarrick’s age makes him mentally incompetent for trial, although prosecutors are still working to disprove this claim.

Statutes of limitations — laws that dictate the maximum amount of time that can pass after an event before legal parties can no longer press charges — have prevented several survivors from filing civil lawsuits against McCarrick for assaults said to have occurred between the 1970s and 1990s. However, the survivor in these criminal cases was neither a resident of Wisconsin nor Massachusetts and left the states after the assaults allegedly occurred, a technicality that put a hold on the expiration of the legal window. 

An estimated 14 minors and at least eight seminarians, priests and other vulnerable U.S. adults have accused McCarrick of sexual abuse, according to BishopAccountability.org. Their stories follow a greater trend in recent years of sexual abuse allegations rising dramatically within the Catholic Church.

Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul said he supports individuals who hold church officials accountable by reporting these abuses of power, especially given the backlash and doubt that survivors often receive.

 
“Thank you to the brave survivors who have made reports through the clergy and faith leader abuse initiative,” Kaul said in an April 17 press release. “I encourage other survivors who have not yet reported to consider speaking to the victim services specialist at DOJ who is dedicated to this initiative and to make a report.”

Resources: On-campus resources include Health Education Services (202-687-8949) and Counseling and Psychiatric Service (202-687-7080); additional off-campus resources include the D.C. Rape Crisis Center (202-333-7273) and the D.C. Forensic Nurse Examiner Washington Hospital Center (844-443-5732). Individuals can also report sexual misconduct by a Jesuit by contacting the province’s victim advocate at [email protected]. If you or anyone you know would like to receive a sexual assault forensic examination or other medical care — including emergency contraception — call the Network for Victim Recovery of D.C. at 202-742-1727. To report sexual misconduct, you can contact Georgetown’s Title IX coordinator at 202-687-9183 or file an online report here. Emergency contraception is available at the CVS located at 1403 Wisconsin Ave NW and through H*yas for Choice. For more information, visit sexualassault.georgetown.edu.