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Revelations of U.S. cardinal’s alleged sex abuse may force Pope Francis' hand

(Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post via AP, Pool, File) In this Sept. 23, 2015, 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. Revelations that the most respected U.S. cardinal repeatedly sexually abused both boys and adult seminarians has raised questions about who in the Catholic Church hierarchy knew, and what Pope Francis is going to do about it. If the accusations against Cardinal Theodore McCarrick bear out, will Francis revoke his title of cardinal, sanction him to a lifetime of prayer or even defrock him, the expected sanction if McCarrick were a mere priest?