Catholic Church Abuse Survivors Respond To Death Of Disgraced Ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick: “Justice Was Never Served”

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) in Aotearoa New Zealand responds to the death of disgraced ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, one of the most notorious and powerful abusers in the modern history of the Catholic Church.

McCarrick was never held accountable for his sex crimes. While eventually removed from public ministry, defrocked, and stripped of his cardinalate, he never stood trial for the vast amount of harm he inflicted on helpless and innocent children, young adults, seminarians, and others under his power. While his death marks the end of his life, justice was never served.

McCarrick’s story is not just about him, but the system that enabled him. For decades, church officials at the highest levels knew about McCarrick’s offending and chose to protect him. They allowed him to continue assaulting children and vulnerable seminarians. He was promoted, celebrated, and shielded by numerous bishops, cardinals, and even popes. Many of the church officials who protected him remain in positions of power today, unaccountable and remorseless. One could become the next pope.

SNAP believes that many more McCarricks still hide in plain sight within the Catholic hierarchy today. SNAP will continue to fight for their exposure and accountability. This is why SNAP announced the creation of Conclave Watch, a coordinated effort by survivors around the world to expose the abuse records of cardinal-electors and papal candidates and seek support for a binding, universal zero tolerance law.

Peter Isely, a founding member of SNAP in the USA and Chair of the SNAP Global Advocacy Working Group said, “McCarrick may be dead, but his many victims are not. We are still here, still living with the harm he caused — and with the failure by church leaders to stop him. There is no reason to believe the next conclave won’t include more McCarricks — influencing, protecting, and electing one of their own, just like he did at the last conclave. That’s why the public must know who these candidates are. And we intend to make sure they do.”

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