Why the Catholic Church can’t put the clergy sex abuse scandal behind it It probably never will, at least under the current generation of church leaders.

By Joan Vennochi Globe Columnist,Updated September 7, 2021, 3:00 a.m.

Former cardinal Theodore McCarrick, 91, passes protesters as he leaves the Dedham courthouse after pleading not guilty during his first appearance for sexual assault charges, on Sept. 3 in Dedham.
Former cardinal Theodore McCarrick, 91, passes protesters as he leaves the Dedham courthouse after pleading not guilty during his first appearance for sexual assault charges, on Sept. 3 in Dedham.SCOTT EISEN/GETTY

A day of reckoning for a once powerful prince of the Roman Catholic Church had finally come.

Frail and 91, former cardinal Theodore McCarrick was arraigned last week on charges that he sexually assaulted a 16-year-old boy at Wellesley College in the 1970s.

As startling and historic as that event may be, it’s years too late for those he’s accused of having abused — and for a church that still struggles to put the clergy sex abuse scandal behind it. It probably never will, at least under the current generation of church leaders — not until there are no more victims, and no more clerics to hold accountable.



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