(NPR) A prominent Vatican diplomat and the former archbishop of Washington, D.C., has resigned from the College of Cardinals over sexual abuse allegations. Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick presented his resignation on Friday evening.
In a statement on Saturday, the Vatican said: "Pope Francis accepted his resignation from the cardinalate and has ordered his suspension from the exercise of any public ministry, together with the obligation to remain in a house yet to be indicated to him, for a life of prayer and penance until the accusations made against him are examined in a regular canonical trial."
McCarrick, now 88, has been one of the Vatican's most prominent officials. As archbishop of Washington, a post he served in from 2001 to 2006, McCarrick helped form church policies aimed at protecting young people from sexual abuse within the church.
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