Disgraced former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick has died at age 94

WASHINGTON (AP) — Theodore McCarrick, a once-powerful Catholic cardinal who was defrocked by Pope Francis in 2019 after a Vatican investigation determined he had molested adults and children, has died. He was 94.

Archbishop of Washington Robert McElroy issued a statement Friday confirming McCarrick's death a day earlier but provided no details. His statement focused on those McCarrick abused.

“At this moment I am especially mindful of those who he harmed during the course of his priestly ministry," McElroy said. "Through their enduring pain, may we remain steadfast in our prayers for them and for all victims of sexual abuse.”

In recent court proceedings, it was disclosed that McCarrick had been diagnosed with dementia. He had been living in Missouri, and Vatican News reported he died there.

The McCarrick scandal created a crisis of credibility for the church, primarily because there was evidence Vatican and U.S. church leaders knew he slept with seminarians but turned a blind eye as McCarrick rose to the top of the U.S. church as an adept fundraiser who advised three popes.

The Vatican's report on its investigation put the lion’s share of blame on a dead saint: Pope John Paul II, who appointed McCarrick archbishop of Washington, D.C., in 2000, despite having commissioned an inquiry that confirmed he slept with seminarians.

The report found that John Paul believed McCarrick’s last-minute, handwritten denial in which he wrote: “I have made mistakes and may have sometimes lacked in prudence, but in the seventy years of my life I have never had sexual relations with any person, male or female, young or old, cleric or lay."

Over several decades, bishops, cardinals and popes dismissed or downplayed reports of McCarrick’s misconduct with young men as he rose through the ranks to become a cardinal and archbishop, according to the investigation.

The report contained heartbreaking testimony from people who tried to raise the alarm about McCarrick’s inappropriate behavior, including with children, in the mid-1980s.

While the findings provided new details about what the Vatican knew and when, it didn’t directly blame or admit that the church’s internal “old boys club” culture allowed McCarrick’s behavior to continue unchecked.

Cardinals and bishops have long been considered beyond reproach. Claims of homosexual behavior are used to discredit or blackmail prelates that they often are dismissed as rumor. There also has been a widespread but unspoken tolerance of sexually active men in what is supposed to be a celibate priesthood.

The report drew on documents from Vatican departments, U.S. dioceses and seminaries and the Vatican’s U.S. Embassy. Investigators interviewed 90 people, including McCarrick’s victims, former seminarians and priests, and officials from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, responded to McCarrick’s death expressing frustration that the ex-cardinal, although defrocked, never stood trial for “the vast harm he inflicted."

“McCarrick may be dead, but his many victims are not,” said Peter Isely, a founding member of SNAP. “We are still here, still living with the harm he caused — and with the church’s failure to stop him. ”

McCarrick, who was the archbishop of Washington from 2000 to 2006, was one of the highest-ranking U.S. church officials accused in a sexual abuse scandal that has seen thousands of priests implicated. He traveled widely, was a gifted fundraiser and spoke multiple languages.

He was a priest in New York City from 1958, when he was ordained, until 1981, when he became bishop of Metuchen, New Jersey. He was archbishop of Newark from 1986 until 2000 and was elevated to cardinal in 2001.

McCarrick participated in the 2005 conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI, presided over the graveside service for Sen. Ted Kennedy at Arlington National Cemetery in 2009, and celebrated Mass with Pope Francis during his 2015 visit to Washington.

This story has been corrected to reflect that McCarrick died Thursday, instead of Friday.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

FILE - In this March 4, 2015, file photo, Cardinal Theodore McCarrick speaks during a memorial service in South Bend, Ind. (Robert Franklin/South Bend Tribune via AP, Pool, File)

FILE - Former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, left, arrives at Dedham District Court, Friday, Sept. 3, 2021, in Dedham, Mass. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)

FILE - Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the Archbishop of Washington announces in Hyattsville, Md. Thursday, July 11, 2002 a new initiative to protect children from sexual abuse. (AP Photo/Jacqueline Roggenbrodt, File)

FILE - In this Sept. 23, 2015 file photo, Pope Francis reaches out to hug Cardinal Archbishop emeritus Theodore McCarrick after the Midday Prayer of the Divine with more than 300 U.S. Bishops at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington. (Jonathan Newton / The Washington Post via AP, Pool, File)

FILE - In this Feb. 23, 2001 file photo, U.S. Cardinal Theodore Edgar McCarrick, archbishop of Washington, D.C., shakes hands with Pope John Paul II during the General Audience with the newly appointed cardinals in the Paul VI hall at the Vatican. (AP Photo/Massimo Sambucetti, File)

FILE - Former Washington Archbishop, Cardinal Theodore McCarrick listens during a press conference in Washington, May 16, 2006. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

FILE - Washington Cardinal Theodore McCarrick celebrates a mass inside St. Nereus and Achilleus Church in Rome, Thursday, April 14, 2005. (AP Photo/ Alessandra Tarantino, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — Alex Ovechkin has broken Wayne Gretzky’s record for the most goals in NHL history by scoring the 895th of his career.

The Washington Capitals’ captain made history Sunday against the New York Islanders by beating fellow Russian Ilya Sorokin on a power play with 12:34 left in the second period. He took a perfect pass from longtime teammate Tom Wilson and fired an absolute laser past Sorokin with defenseman Jakob Chychrun screening.

Ovechkin had never scored on Sorokin before, making his countryman the 183rd different goaltender he has beaten. He dived onto the ice to celebrate as so many Capitals fans in attendance chanted “Ovi! Ovi!” from the stands.

Just as they did after he scored No. 894, teammates mobbed the 39-year-old Ovechkin to celebrate the accomplishment, which replaced a record that had stood for 31 years. Ovechkin then hugged team equipment and training staff on the bench and went through a handshake line with the Islanders as crew members set up for the 895 ceremony.

Gretzky’s total of 894 goals had long seemed unapproachable. Ovechkin passed it even after missing 16 games in November and December because of a broken left leg, a testament to his durability and a knack for putting the puck in the net consistently for two decades. He surpassed 40 goals this season for a 14th time — two more than Gretzky and also the most in league history.

Even before this, Ovechkin owned the NHL records for power-play goals, shots on goal and the most goalies scored against, now adding Sorokin to that list. Only Gretzky has more multi-goal games, and Ovechkin earlier this season became just the sixth player with 700 goals and 700 assists, joining Gretzky, Gordie Howe, Jaromir Jagr, Marcel Dionne and Phil Esposito.

Ovechkin last moved up the all-time goal-scoring list Dec. 23, 2022, when he got Nos. 801 and 802 to tie and pass Howe.

The chase by the Great 8, a nickname honoring his jersey number, captured attention from North America to Ovechkin’s native Russia, where billboards and goal-counters cheered on and tracked his effort. It helped Ovechkin that his team is one of the best in the NHL this season, defying expectations.

Gretzky broke Howe’s record a little over 31 years ago, since he scored 802 on March 23, 1994. He added 92 more before retiring in 1999 after a total of 1,487 games over 20 seasons.

Even with this one falling to Ovechkin — which he has said he is excited about — Gretzky holds 55 NHL records, and two seem truly untouchable: 2,857 total points and 1,963 assists, the latter of which is more than anyone else has in goals and assists combined.

For NHL playoff goals, which do not count toward the record, Gretzky has the most (122). Ovechkin has 72. Gretzky also had another 56 in the World Hockey Association regular season and playoffs, while Ovechkin has 57 from his time in the KHL, Russia’s top league.

Returning to Russia to play in front of family and friends is an option at some point for Ovechkin, who has one season left after this one on the five-year, $47.5 million contract he signed in 2021, which took him through age 40 to give him enough time to chase Gretzky’s record. Instead, he got it done earlier than just about anyone could have realistically expected.

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Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8), lower center, is celebrates with is teammates after scoring against New York Islanders during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Elmont, N.Y., Sunday, April 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8), right, and New York Islanders defenseman Adam Pelech (3) battle for the puck during an NHL hockey game in Elmont, N.Y., Sunday, April 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

New York Islanders center Casey Cizikas (53), left, and Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) contest possession during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Elmont, N.Y., Sunday, April 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin kneels on the ice during the warm-up before an NHL hockey game against New York Islanders in Elmont, N.Y., Sunday, April 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) celebrates with teammates after scoring against New York Islanders during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Elmont, N.Y., Sunday, April 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8), lower center, is celebrates with his teammates after scoring against New York Islanders during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Elmont, N.Y., Sunday, April 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) celebrates after scoring his 895th career goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game against New York Islanders in Elmont, N.Y., Sunday, April 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) celebrates with is teammates after scoring against New York Islanders during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Elmont, N.Y., Sunday, April 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) celebrates after scoring his 895th career goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game against New York Islanders in Elmont, N.Y., Sunday, April 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin warms-up before an NHL hockey game against New York Islanders in Elmont, N.Y., Sunday, April 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)