Accuser Says Cardinal Molested Him During Confession

The Associated Press reports:

The Vatican’s sexual abuse case against ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick has expanded significantly after a man testified that the retired American archbishop sexually abused him for years starting when he was 11, including during confession.

The Vatican is under pressure to finalize its case against McCarrick before Francis hosts church leaders at a February sex abuse prevention summit, since Francis himself has been implicated in the yearslong cover-up of McCarrick’s misconduct with adults.

The pope accepted McCarrick’s resignation earlier this year. McCarrick is currently living a “lifetime of penance and prayer” but has not yet been defrocked.