Disgraced former prelate Theodore McCarrick denied sexual abuse allegations against him in his first interview since the scandal surrounding him broke over a year ago.

McCarrick, who was accused of multiple acts of abuse over decades, told Slate he is "not as bad as they paint me."

"I do not believe that I did the things that they accused me of," said McCarrick.

McCarrick specifically denied groping a minor, James Grein, while hearing his confession.

"The thing about the confession, it’s a horrible thing,” said McCarrick. “I was a priest for 60 years, and I would never have done anything like that. ... That was horrible, to take the holy sacrament and to make it a sinful thing.”

As for multiple allegations that McCarrick abused seminarians at a beach house, the former cardinal said his accusers "were encouraged" to come up with similar stories.

“There were many who were in that situation who never had any problems like that,” said McCarrick, who blamed "enemies" for organizing the accusations against him.

McCarrick was removed from the clerical state, and Vatican officials found him guilty of "solicitation in the Sacrament of Confession, and sins against the Sixth Commandment with minors and with adults, with the aggravating factor of the abuse of power." Within months of the scandal breaking, McCarrick was moved to a small friary in Victoria, Kansas, far removed from any urban center, where he has lived for the past year.

The McCarrick scandal prompted questions about which church officials protected him, especially after Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò accused Pope Francis of knowing about McCarrick's wrongdoing.