Timeline of key events in case of former cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick

(OSV News) -- Here is a timeline of key events in the life of the late Theodore E. McCarrick, beginning with his ordination as a priest for the Archdiocese of New York more than 60 years ago. The timeline includes information on his episcopal appointments to dioceses and archdioceses and covers allegations of abuse lodged against him up to his death April 3, 2025.

1958, June 15 -- Father McCarrick is ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of New York by Cardinal Francis J. Spellman.

1958 -- Father McCarrick performs his first baptism in Tenafly, New Jersey. The child, James Grein, later would allege he was abused by Father McCarrick.

1969 -- Msgr. McCarrick is named assistant secretary of education for the Archdiocese of New York.

1969 -- Msgr. McCarrick allegedly exposes himself to James Grein, then an 11-year-old boy, in Northern New Jersey. As reported by The New York Times July 19, 2018, Grein (who shared his full name only later) alleged that an abusive relationship continued for nearly 20 years.

1971 -- Msgr. McCarrick becomes personal secretary to Cardinal Terence J. Cooke of New York.

1971 -- Msgr. McCarrick allegedly abuses a 16-year-old altar boy in the Archdiocese of New York prior to Christmas Mass. A year later, he allegedly abuses the same altar boy, again before Christmas Mass. Both incidents were reported to the archdiocese sometime between March 1, 2017, and April 15, 2018.

1977, June 29 -- Msgr. McCarrick is ordained an auxiliary bishop of New York by Cardinal Cooke.

1982, Jan. 31 -- Bishop McCarrick is installed as first bishop of the newly created Diocese of Metuchen, New Jersey.

1984 -- Bishop McCarrick authorizes the Diocese of Metuchen to purchase a beach house in Sea Girt, New Jersey, according to The New York Times. He is alleged to have abused seminarians at the house.

1986, July 25 -- Archbishop McCarrick is installed as archbishop of Newark, New Jersey.

1987 -- Archbishop McCarrick allegedly abuses an unnamed seminarian for the Diocese of Metuchen, New Jersey, in New York City. The former priest received a settlement from the Archdiocese of Newark and the Diocese of Metuchen in 2007, as reported by The New York Times July 16, 2018.

1994 -- The unnamed Metuchen priest writes a letter to Archbishop McCarrick's successor in Metuchen, Bishop Edward T. Hughes, stating that abuse he allegedly endured from Archbishop McCarrick and other priests triggered him to touch two 15-year-old boys inappropriately. In the letter, he also claimed he saw Archbishop McCarrick having sex with a young priest and that the archbishop invited him to be next. The letter was in a file the priest provided to the Times on the condition his name not be used.

1995, October -- Archbishop McCarrick hosts Pope John Paul II in Newark during his Oct. 4-9 visit to the United States.

2000, Nov. 21 -- Archbishop McCarrick is appointed by Pope John Paul as archbishop of Washington.

2000, Nov. 22, 24 -- Seminary instructor Father Boniface Ramsey says he spoke Nov. 22 with Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo, the Vatican nuncio in Washington, about his concerns about Archbishop McCarrick. He also expressed his concerns in a letter addressed to the nuncio and mailed Nov. 24. Father Ramsey, who taught at Immaculate Conception Seminary at Seton Hall University in New Jersey from 1986-1996, said he was told by seminarians about Archbishop McCarrick's alleged sexual abuse at the New Jersey beach house.

2001, Jan. 3 -- Archbishop McCarrick is installed as archbishop of Washington and is elevated by Pope John Paul the next month to cardinal.

2002, April 23-24 -- U.S. cardinals including Cardinal McCarrick meet at the Vatican for a summit with Pope John Paul as the sex abuse crisis unfolds in the U.S. Cardinal McCarrick is on the drafting committee of the document that emerges from the summit. He also is a spokesman for the bishops in Rome and one of three U.S. prelates to give a news conference at the Vatican.

2002, April 28 -- Cardinal McCarrick speaking on "Fox News Sunday" urges a distinction between past offenders and anyone who offends from now on. He said he supports the removal of any priest accused in the future, but added that cardinals are divided about whether such a policy should be applied to past allegations.

2002, June -- Cardinal McCarrick helps draft "Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People" in Dallas during a meeting of all the U.S. bishops. Also known as the Dallas Charter, it does not specify abuse committed by bishops or cardinals or abuse of adults over the age of 18; a statement of commitment in the charter obliges bishops to report to the apostolic nuncio if they themselves are accused of sexually abusing a minor or if they become aware of an allegation of such abuse by a bishop. Cardinal McCarrick tells the Catholic Standard, the Washington Archdiocese's newspaper, that he had been hesitant to support the charter's "no strikes" policy of removing from ministry everyone against whom there has been a credible charge of sexual abuse.

2004 -- The unnamed priest, who wrote the letter to Bishop Hughes of Metuchen in 1994 claiming abuse by Archbishop McCarrick, is forced to resign under the U.S. church's new zero-tolerance policy against child abuse, based on his admission in the 1994 letter of having abused children.

2004, Oct. 1 -- The Washingtonian magazine runs a profile article on Cardinal McCarrick, the archbishop of Washington. The article states that "for the past 20 years he has vacationed for a week every year on the New Jersey shore, where a friend loans him a house. He usually takes along a group of priests or seminarians."

2005 -- Robert Ciolek, former priest of the Diocese of Metuchen, receives a secret payment of $80,000 from the Diocese of Metuchen and the Archdiocese of Newark as a settlement for alleged abuse by Archbishop McCarrick.

2006, May 16 -- Cardinal McCarrick's resignation as archbishop of Washington is accepted by Pope Benedict XVI. He had submitted his resignation when he turned 75 on July 7, 2005, as required by canon law.

2007 -- Unnamed former priest of the Diocese of Metuchen, who was allegedly abused as a seminarian in 1987 in New York by Archbishop McCarrick, receives a secret settlement of $100,000 from the Diocese of Metuchen and the Archdiocese of Newark.

2008, April 22 -- Richard Sipe, a former priest who was an adjunct professor at St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore, posts an open letter on the internet to Pope Benedict alleging Cardinal McCarrick sexually abused seminarians and young priests. He said seminarians came to him with their concerns while he was teaching at seminary.

2010, May 12 -- Richard Sipe states in an internet post that the case of a financial settlement by the Diocese of Metuchen and the Archdiocese of Newark for Cardinal McCarrick was sent to the Vatican's Congregation (now Dicastery) for the Doctrine of the Faith, which handles clergy sex abuse claims among its other responsibilities. He says the congregation has not responded. Sipe posts graphic information from the settlement about an alleged incident involving Archbishop McCarrick and a seminarian and two young priests.

2017, March 1 to April 15, 2018 -- During this time, the Archdiocese of New York receives an allegation that Msgr. McCarrick abused a teenage boy in 1971 and 1972. The allegation is handled according to procedures in the Dallas Charter.

2018, June 20 -- New York Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan announces that Cardinal McCarrick has been removed from ministry at the direction of the Vatican after an investigation by the Archdiocese of New York found credible a charge that he sexually abused a teenager.

2018, June 20 -- Cardinal McCarrick issues statement saying that he was advised months ago by Cardinal Dolan about the allegation against him. Cardinal McCarrick maintains that he is innocent and says he does not have recollection of the abuse.

2018, June 20 -- Newark Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin issues a statement about Cardinal McCarrick saying the Archdiocese of Newark and the Diocese of Metuchen "received three allegations of sexual misconduct with adults decades ago; two of these resulted in settlements."

2018, June 20 -- Metuchen Bishop James F. Checchio says a reexamination of diocesan archives did not uncover "any report or allegation that Cardinal McCarrick ever abused any minor during his time in Metuchen." Bishop Checchio acknowledges that in the past there have been allegations that then-Bishop McCarrick engaged in sexual behavior with adults.

2018, June 20 -- Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl of Washington issues a statement saying that concurrent with the Archdiocese of New York investigation he requested a review be made of Washington archdiocesan records. He states that no claims were made against Cardinal McCarrick during the prelate's time in Washington.

2018, July 16 -- The New York Times publishes a front-page story detailing alleged abuse of two seminarians, who became priests in the Diocese of Metuchen, by Cardinal McCarrick in the 1980s that resulted in settlements to both men. These are the settlements concerning "sexual misconduct with adults" as described by the Newark Archdiocese and Diocese of Metuchen June 20.

2018, July 24 -- Boston Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley, president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, issues a statement confirming that his office in 2015 received a letter from Father Boniface Ramsey alerting them to the abuse of Cardinal McCarrick. Cardinal O'Malley states he did not "personally receive" the letter and that at the staff level a reply was made to Father Ramsey that it "did not fall under the purview of the Commission or the Archdiocese of Boston."

2018, July 28 -- Pope Francis accepts the resignation of Cardinal McCarrick from the College of Cardinals and suspends him from public ministry. The pope orders him to a "life of prayer and penance" until accusations against him are examined in a canonical trial.

2018, Aug. 1 -- Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, announces that the conference "will pursue the many questions surrounding Archbishop McCarrick's conduct to the full extent of its authority."

2018, September -- The Archdiocese of Washington announces that Cardinal McCarrick has been sent to live among a small community of Capuchin Franciscan friars in rural Kansas.

2018, Oct. 6 -- The Vatican issues a statement noting that a year earlier there had been a preliminary investigation into an allegation against Cardinal McCarrick and the results will be combined with a further study of documents. The Vatican promised that a complete report on how Archbishop McCarrick was able to continue to rise through church ranks would be made public "in due course."

2018, Dec. 27 -- Grein gives testimony on McCarrick requested by the Vatican before a judicial vicar for the New York Archdiocese.

2019, Jan. 5 -- The online Catholic news outlet Crux reports that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is reviewing a third case involving Cardinal McCarrick and a minor, one more case than previously reported.

2019, Jan. 10 -- Church officials confirm that Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl, now retired archbishop of Washington, had forwarded an allegation of sexual misconduct against Cardinal McCarrick to the papal nuncio in Washington in 2004, when Cardinal Wuerl was bishop of Pittsburgh.

2019, Feb. 13 -- Dioceses in the state of New Jersey make public the names of priests whom they said had been "credibly accused" of sexual abuse of minors, including Cardinal McCarrick. His inclusion is based "on the findings of the Archdiocese of New York that allegations of abuse of a minor against then-Father McCarrick were credible and substantiated."

2019, Feb. 16 -- Pope Francis confirms McCarrick's removal from the priesthood after he was found 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."

2019, Dec. 2 -- John Bellocchio files suit against McCarrick and the Archdiocese of Newark claiming McCarrick sexually assaulted him when he was 14 and the then-Archbishop McCarrick was visiting Bellocchio's parish in Hackensack, New Jersey. Bellocchio also alleges Vatican officials were aware of McCarrick's behavior over his more than 60 years as a cleric and yet continued to promote him as a church leader.

2020, Jan. 3 -- McCarrick moves out of the Capuchin friary in Kansas; his new location is not made public.

2020, July 22 -- Attorney Jeff Anderson announces he filed a lawsuit in New Jersey's Middlesex County Superior Court alleging his client, identified only as John Doe 14, was abused as a boy by McCarrick in the Sea Girt beach house.

2020, Nov. 6 -- The Vatican announces that the McCarrick report, first promised in October 2018, will be released Nov. 10.

2020, Nov. 10 -- The Vatican releases the McCarrick report, which detailed how the former cardinal climbed the Catholic hierarchical structure based on personal contacts, protestations of his innocence, and a lack of church officials reporting and investigating accusations.

2021, July 29 -- The first criminal charge against McCarrick is brought in Massachusetts, alleging assault of a 16-year-old boy at a wedding in 1974. The victim alleged McCarrick also abused him in other states, including New Jersey.

2021, July 3 -- A civil sex abuse lawsuit is filed against McCarrick in New Jersey, alleging abuse of a 12-year-old boy in 1986.

2021, Sept. 2 -- A former employee and a former priest of the Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey, file lawsuits alleging unpermitted sexual contact by McCarrick for incidents in 1991.

2021, Sept. 3. -- McCarrick pleads not guilty in a Massachusetts court, where he is facing three counts of sexually assaulting a teenager in the 1970s. He is not taken into custody but ordered to post $5,000 bail and have no contact with the alleged victim or children.

2021, Oct. 28 -- A pretrial hearing is held in Dedham District Court in Massachusetts in McCarrick's criminal sex abuse case

2021, Dec. 21 -- A second pretrial hearing is held in McCarrick's criminal case. (Though he was present during his arraignment in September, McCarrick was not present during the pretrial hearings.) The court sets March 3, 2022, for proceedings to continue before the criminal trial.

2023, Jan. 13 -- McCarrick's lawyers file a motion in Massachusetts' Dedham District Court in Massachusetts claiming he is in steep mental and physical decline and therefore not able to stand trial. They cite a December 2022 examination conducted by David Schretlen, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. According to the motion, Schretlen found McCarrick has neurological defects and impaired memory and cognition.

2023, Feb. 27 -- McCarrick's legal team files a report Feb. 27 in Massachusetts' Dedham District Court that he is not competent to stand trial on charges he sexually abused a teen in the 1970s. Prosecutors challenge the report based on a medical evaluation that found McCarrick suffers from impaired cognition.

2023, Feb. 28 -- McCarrick, whose attorneys argued he should not stand trial due to "progressive and irreparable cognitive deficits," recalls the name of the man he allegedly sexually abused as a child, although he denies the sexual assaults. He is questioned by a NorthJersey.com reporter during a brief phone interview the day after his attorney filed a motion in a Massachusetts District Court seeking to have the charges dismissed. (According to the report, the reporter called McCarrick at the Missouri assisted living facility where he resides.)

2023, April 17 -- McCarrick is criminally charged in Wisconsin due to an allegation of sexual abuse of an 18-year-old man. The victim alleged that the Wisconsin incident was one of several incidents of McCarrick's abuse over a period of time.

2023, June 29 -- McCarrick is not competent to stand trial in Massachusetts on charges that he sexually abused a teenage boy nearly 50 years ago, according to the prosecution's expert brought in to examine the now 92-year-old.

2023, Aug. 30 -- A Massachusetts judge dismisses the criminal case against McCarrick, ruling the disgraced cleric no longer has the cognitive capacity to stand trial. He faced three counts of indecent assault and battery of a person over age 14 50 years ago. Had he been convicted, he could have been sentenced up to five years in prison on each individual count.

2024, Jan. 10 -- A Wisconsin judge suspends a criminal case against McCarrick Jan. 10, citing incompetency. McCarrick had been charged with fourth-degree sexual assault for abuse that allegedly took place in 1977. No other criminal cases regarding McCarrick were pending.

2024, Dec. 27 -- Wisconsin Judge David Reddy declines to dismiss the case against McCarrick, but agrees "to continue the suspension until the defendant dies," according to a Milwaukee Journal story Jan. 3, citing online court records. "McCarrick did not appear in court for the hearing, and his attorney said there had been 'extreme deterioration' in his health since the case was last in front of the judge in early 2024," the Milwaukee Journal reported.

2025, April 3 -- McCarrick dies. He was reportedly living at the Vianney Renewal Center in Dittmer, Missouri. His death is reported in the media the following day.