Theodore McCarrick—who was arraigned on criminal charges in Massachusetts on September 3 (see separate CWN News Brief)—has also been named as defendant in two sex-abuse lawsuits: one brought by a former employee of the Newark archdiocese, the other by a former New Jersey priest.

McCarrick, now 91, was auxiliary bishop of New York (1977-81), bishop of Metuchen, NJ (1981-86), archbishop of Newark (1986-2000), and archbishop of Washington (2000-06). Created a cardinal in 2001, he resigned from the College of Cardinals in 2018 and was laicized in 2019.