I notice you have chosen to bring up the issue of (the covering up of) sexual abuse of minors (a horrible crime, to be sure), but I think we might just look at the general point behind my ‘reflex’ …

One thing that Francis has done during his papacy (which, I would remind you, began long after the episode recounted in the NYT report you cited) is move decisively away from the tactic of using fear to coerce people into a particular religious position. There are numerous examples of this I could cite (“Who am I to judge?” is perhaps one of the best known). His work in this regard is welcomed by many (though not all) catholic Christians, by many like me (who are Christians outside the Roman Catholic Church) and by people of good will do not call themselves Christians. He understands that “Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus” does not mean that those outside the Church are not able to be saved.

The proclamation of the Gospel is about showing forth God’s love (for everyone – not just an alleged portion of humanity ‘designed for salvation’), not engaging in psychological violence that promotes fear and crucifies the vulnerable.

Presumably, allegations against McCarrick are, or have been, the subject of legal proceedings – as indeed they should be, given the appalling nature of child sexual abuse.

McCarrick is no longer a bishop, of course. His orders were ‘revoked’ earlier this year – quite rightly, in my view, given the seriousness of what he has done and is alleged to have done.

(I would point out to anyone reading your comment that the pope to whom you refer is not Francis. We wouldn’t want anyone to get the wrong impression now, would we?! That said, there is certainly more to be done to address past crimes and prevent future ones …)

I wonder what he will do? I find the who situation bizarre, to be honest.

As does mine: “After Mr. McCarrick, then the archbishop of Newark, left the room, Mr. Grein said he knelt before the pope and revealed, in the presence of several Vatican officials, that Mr. McCarrick had been sexually abusing him since childhood.

“I told him I had been abused as a child by this man, and I need you to stop it,” said an emotional Mr. Grein, who is now 61. “He put both hands on my head, and told me he would pray for me.”

No other action was taken, his lawsuit states.” – https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/15/nyregion/child-sex-abuse-lawsuits.html

These white-washed religious septic tanks continue to do little to nothing. In the long term I expect this whole “church” to literally go bankrupt as victims figure out it cannot continue without property. Everything wrong with KP’s little scam has been wrong with the RCC either now or even greater in the past. Who cares who kisses who if children still get molested and these snakes keep covering it up?