The Washington Post religion desk, to its credit, continues to dig into the long, complicated story of all of the sexual abuse accusations against former cardinal Theodore “Uncle Ted” McCarrick.
This is fitting, since he was a national media figure during his years as archbishop in Washington, D.C. You can get the gist of the latest revelations from the story’s long headline: “At least 7 more people told the Vatican they were sexually abused as boys by Theodore McCarrick, according to sources.”
What is really interesting, at least to me, about this must-read Post story is the degree to which it tells a story that centers on events in Uncle Ted’s career in and around New York and New Jersey.
For me, this raises an interesting question. Readers with detailed memories will recall that the McCarrick meltdown kicked into overdrive with a story in The New York Times. Remember this Gray Lady headline from July 16, 2018? “He Preyed on Men Who Wanted to Be Priests. Then He Became a Cardinal.” That story was driven by accusations filed with investigators, including laypeople, with the Catholic Archdiocese of New York.
So here is my question: Why are readers seeing chapter after chapter of the McCarrick drama unfold at The Washington Post, if the key events took place in zip codes near The New York Times?
Just asking.
So let’s go back to praising the Post. Here is the overture of the latest story:
Theodore McCarrick, a former D.C. archbishop and cardinal who was defrocked this year amid allegations that he sexually abused two minors and sexually harassed seminarians, is facing new accusations that he abused at least seven boys from about 1970 until 1990, according to three sources, including a person with direct knowledge of the claims U.S. church officials sent to the Vatican in January.
In addition, six allegations of sexual abuse by seminarians and former seminarians also were sent to Rome, according to this last person.
In an interview, an accuser told The Washington Post that many of the boys knew one another. They often would travel together with McCarrick on fundraising trips to churches and the homes of donors nationwide, where the abuse allegedly would occur. The accuser and his family met McCarrick at a church function when the man was a young child.
The Post doesn’t name victims. However, this story does link to a crucial anonymous essay — “Delicta Graviora: An Essay for the Faithful” — by “Nathan Doe,” one of the accusers who worked with law enforcement officials and Catholic church leaders. The title means “More Grave Crimes.”
Apparently, these new accusations were filed in response to the Slate piece in which reporter Ruth Graham traveled to western Kansas to confront McCarrick at the monastery that is his home, these days. See this GetReligion post for previous commentary on that: “Slate reporter goes to Kansas and spends a few minutes with 'Uncle Ted' McCarrick.”
Here is a crucial chunk of that Slate article:
I asked him if he had done it. He has been accused of sexually assaulting minors and making unwanted advances on seminary students he invited to his beach house in New Jersey over the course of many decades. Were those stories true? “I’m not as bad as they paint me,” he said. “I do not believe that I did the things that they accused me of.” I told him it sounded like he thought it was possible — that saying he didn’t “believe” he had done those things, or that he doesn’t remember them, makes it sound as if he’s leaving it an open question. No, he said.
This brings us back to the new reporting by the Post:
The victim said the group of accusers of which he is part have communicated with civil officials, including the New York County district attorney. A spokeswoman there declined to comment on the status of any ongoing inquiries. The archdiocese of Newark and the diocese of Metuchen, N.J., also declined to comment on investigations of McCarrick, which they characterized as continuing.
The man said McCarrick’s interview with Slate spurred him to write an essay. “He attempted to discredit the victims of his sexual abuse while creating further division and confusion within our church,” he said.
The essay described how the childhood acquaintances steeled themselves after decades to report the alleged abuse to church and civil officials. Some call themselves “the Nathans,” the man said, citing a prophet who in the Bible called out David for adultery and abusing power.
So what is my point?
Remember the old journalism saying that “All news is local”? We are talking about a scandal that centers in Metuchen, N.J., Newark and New York City.
Do editors at The New York Times have a map?