July 28 (UPI) -- Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, former archbishop of Newark, N.J., and Washington, D.C., resigned Saturday amid scandal tied to decades-old sex abuse allegations.
Pope Francis accepted McCarrick's resignation Saturday and directed him to observe "a life of prayer and penance until the accusations made against him are examined in a regular canonical trial." McCarrick sent his letter to resign as a member of the College of Cardinals to the Pope on Friday evening.