Theodore McCarrick files motion in Massachusetts court claiming he is “legally incompetent”

Former cardinal Theodore McCarrick has filed a motion in a Massachusetts court claiming he is “legally incompetent” to stand trial for sex abuse charges, citing “significant, worsening, and irreversible dementia.” The state of Massachusetts wants an opportunity to examine McCarrick’s competency to stand trial. McCarrick’s motion to dismiss the charges comes about a month after his legal team said a neurological exam of him was being conducted by Dr. David Schretlen, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

McCarrick is charged with three counts of indecent assault and battery on a person over the age of 14 relating to allegations that he sexually abused the teenager who was a family friend at a wedding ceremony in the 1970s at Wellesley College in Wellesley, Massachusetts.

McCarrick, who Pope Francis laicized in 2019, held one of the highest offices in the Catholic Church and has been accused of serially abusing his priestly authority by sexually abusing minors and seminarians.

The report on McCarrick says that his “reported inability to retrieve memories of the alleged incident and potential witnesses” and “any exculpatory factors related to it” are consistent with his performance on the exams and testimony from those who know him well, according to the document. Schretlen’s report concluded that McCarrick has a “severe cognitive disorder” and “everyday functional disability” that classifies as dementia and is most likely due to Alzheimer’s disease.

The document says that although McCarrick “remains intelligent and articulate,” he cannot stand trial because his dementia prevents him from “meaningfully consulting with counsel and effectively participating in his own defense.” McCarrick’s lawyers maintain in the court document that it would violate his 14th Amendment right in the Constitution and Article XII of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights if he were to stand trial with his dementia.

David Traub, director of communications for the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office, which is prosecuting the case, told CNA in an email Monday that “the Commonwealth will hire its own expert to assess competency.” McCarrick’s lawyer Barry Coburn declined comment. Marx, his other lawyer, did not respond to a request for comment. McCarrick hasn’t been seen publicly since his arraignment in Dedham on Sept. 3, 2021, when he pleaded not guilty to all three counts of indecent assault and battery on a person over 14.

McCarrick appeared in frail condition that day, arriving at the courthouse wearing a mask and hunched over a walker. He made no comment either inside or outside the courthouse, where a demonstrator yelled, “Shame on you!” as McCarrick slowly walked past reporters and photographers alongside one of his attorneys. The document says that McCarrick continues to maintain his innocence on all charges. An update court hearing in Dedham District Court on the state’s examination of McCarrick is set for April 20.