This latest move by Francis is unprecedented by the Vatican, and it is intended to send a strong message, according to Archbishop Charles Scicluna in an interview with Reuters.
"It is a very important signal that, if we're talking about accountability for bishops, we are actually doing it," he said. "We are walking the talk. There is also a very important signal for us bishops that we are not above the law. ... We should be judged according to the highest standards."
Scicluna said McCarrick's sexual misconduct with adult seminarians was an open secret in the U.S. church, and Scicluna also noted the decision could lead to "soul searching" by those who may have known about it but did not come forward. Scicluna is an archbishop in Malta and holds a prominent position in the Vatican department that judged McCarrick.
The church repeatedly has faced withering criticism for its mishandling of the sexual abuse crisis, which has documented how predator priests were simply moved from parish to parish in nations around the globe instead of being defrocked or turned over to civilian authorities.
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