"Letters Suggest Vatican Imposed Lax Restrictions On McCarrick For Alleged Sex Abuse Since 2008"

"Letters and emails suggest Vatican officials placed restrictions on defrocked Cardinal Theodore McCarrick as early as 2008, but failed to enforce these restrictions and allowed him to continue his high-profile work.

The former secretary to McCarrick, Monsignor Anthony Figueiredo, released private correspondence between Vatican leaders revealing the reported restrictions on McCarrick after allegations of sexual misconduct, according to CBS News. The Vatican 'acknowledged the existence of restrictions on McCarrick, but has provided few details.'

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith declared McCarrick guilty in February of 'solicitation in the Sacrament of Confession, and sins against the Sixth Commandment with minors and with adults, with the aggravating factor of the abuse of power,' according to a Vatican statement. He was also defrocked.

The letters and emails provided by Figueiredo reveal correspondence between McCarrick and Pope Francis as well as other senior Vatican officials. (RELATED: Pope Francis Issues Church Law Governing Sex Abuse Reporting And Investigation)

'After long consideration, I have made the decision to place in the public domain some of the correspondence and other information related to McCarrick that I possess in my many years of service to him,' Figueiredo wrote in the report.

'These facts show clearly that high-ranking prelates likely had knowledge of McCarrick’s actions and of restrictions imposed upon him during the pontificate of Benedict XVI,' he continued. 'They also clearly show that these restrictions were not enforced even before the pontificate of Francis.'"