Following the death Thursday of disgraced former cardinal Theodore McCarrick at age 94, Catholic leaders and advocates for the victims of clergy abuse have expressed sorrow for those affected by his crimes as well as regret that they never received their day in court.

In confirming McCarrick’s death, Cardinal Robert McElroy of the Archdiocese of Washington, where McCarrick served as archbishop from 2001 to 2006, offered prayers Friday for the victims of abuse.

“Today I learned of the death of Theodore McCarrick, former archbishop of Washington. At this moment I am especially mindful of those who he harmed during the course of his priestly ministry,” Cardinal McElroy said in a statement shared with the Register.

“Through their enduring pain, may we remain steadfast in our prayers for them and for all victims of sexual abuse,” he said.

Cardinal Joseph Tobin, who serves as archbishop of Newark, New Jersey, also expressed his concern for McCarrick’s victims. In 1986, Pope John Paul II had appointed McCarrick to lead the Newark Archdiocese, where he served until 2000.

“I am keenly aware of the trauma this news may reignite for those victimized by Mr. McCarrick. Having listened to many survivors, I recognize the deep pain and betrayal they have endured. I continue to offer my prayers in support as they navigate their journey toward healing,” Cardinal Tobin said.

“As a Church, we remain steadfast in our commitment to listening to survivors, supporting their healing, and ensuring that such betrayals are never repeated,” he added.

McCarrick was named archbishop of Newark following his tenure as bishop of Metuchen, New Jersey, where allegations of abuse of seminarians and minors first circulated. The alleged assaults took place during annual clergy retreats at a beach house on the Jersey Shore and during trips with his “nephews” — the teenage sons of Catholic families known to him.

Anne Barrett Doyle, co-director of the U.S.-based abuse watchdog group BishopAccountability.org, said McCarrick’s crimes changed the way the Vatican publicly responds to the clergy-abuse crisis.

“Without the public pressure this case brought to bear on Rome in 2018, it’s likely that [Pope] Francis would not have convened his global bishops’ meeting or enacted his so-called accountability law, Vos Estis Lux Mundi, in 2019,” she said in a statement shared with the Register.

At the same time, “Arguably, no other case in the history of the abuse crisis exposed the complicity of as many high-level Church officials,” she added, reasserting her charge that many bishops and cardinals, as well as Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI, bear responsibility for not taking decisive action sooner to stop McCarrick.

“If even one of his brother bishops had called the police,” Doyle said, “McCarrick might have been prosecuted years or even decades ago,” she said.

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), a support network for victims of clergy sexual abuse, issued a statement Friday, calling McCarrick “one of the most notorious and powerful abusers in the modern history of the Catholic Church.”

“Let us be clear: McCarrick was never held accountable for his crimes. While he was eventually removed from public ministry, defrocked, and stripped of his red hat, he never stood trial for the vast harm he inflicted on children, young adults, seminarians, and others under his power. His death marks the end of his life — but it does not mark justice for his survivors,” the statement said.

“But the McCarrick story is not just about one man. It is about the system that enabled him. For decades, church officials at the highest levels knew about McCarrick’s abuse and chose to protect him, allowing him to continue assaulting children and vulnerable seminarians,” the SNAP statement continued.

“He was promoted, celebrated, and shielded by legions of bishops, cardinals, and even popes. Many of those same officials remain in positions of power today, unaccountable and unrepentant,” the statement added.

While McCarrick was found guilty of sexual abuse and laicized by the Vatican in 2019, he never stood trial in a U.S. criminal court, in part because the statute of limitations protected him from prosecution in many jurisdictions.

In January 2024, a criminal case against McCarrick in Wisconsin was suspended after a psychologist hired by the court found McCarrick was not competent to stand trial. McCarrick had faced misdemeanor sexual-assault charges related to allegations that he had sexually assaulted then-18-year-old James Grein in April 1977.

In August 2023, a Massachusetts court dismissed a case related to the same allegations due to the court’s finding that McCarrick suffered from cognitive impairment.

Grein told the Register Friday that while he isn’t celebrating McCarrick’s death, he is relieved.

“The first thing I did was I said a prayer for him,” he said. “But I didn’t finish the sentence.”

Grein told the Register he last spoke with McCarrick in early 2023, when he called him at his nursing home in Missouri after the state court in Massachusetts found him incompetent to stand trial.

“This is what I said: ‘I have forgiven you. But I will never forget. You should pray for yourself, and you should pray for me,’” Grein said. “He said, ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’”

Staff reporter Matt McDonald contributed to this story.