

This story was updated September 28, 2018 at 2:30 p.m. CDT with comments from David Clohessy and at 3:10 p.m. CDT with comments from Bishop Vincke.

Former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, who stepped down from active ministry this summer after credible allegations of sexual abuse of seminarians and children, has moved to a home for priests in Kansas to live out a "life of prayer and penance," as directed by the Vatican when he resigned from the College of Cardinals in July.

CNS-McCarrick cc.jpg Then-Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick at the Vatican June 19, 2013 (CNS/Vatican Media)

McCarrick, 88, now resides at St. Fidelis Friary in Victoria, Kansas, home to five Franciscan Capuchin priests and a brother. The house is located in the Diocese of Salina, Kansas, next to the Basilica of St. Fidelis, called the "Cathedral of the Plains" for its architectural significance. It attracts more than 16,000 tourists a year, according to the parish website. The announcement on the Washington Archdiocese's website asks for "respect for the privacy of this arrangement" out of "consideration for the peace of the community at St. Fidelis Friary." Permission for the arrangement was given by the order's provincial superior, Capuchin Fr. Christopher Popravak and Salina Bishop Gerald Vincke. Vincke, who was appointed to lead Salina on June 13, defended his decision, which he admitted would be "offensive and hurtful to many people," by saying he believed in not only justice, but mercy. "Please know that I agreed to this arrangement with the understanding that Archbishop McCarrick is excluded from any public appearances and ministry. Our diocese is not incurring any cost in this arrangement," Vincke wrote in a statement on the diocesan website titled "Why I Said 'Yes.'"

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