The Vatican has delivered its final verdict on the former Cardinal Archbishop of Washington, Theodore McCarrick. Last Saturday, it announced that it had dismissed him from the clerical state after finding him guilty 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”. Mr McCarrick will no longer be permitted to style himself as a priest or celebrate the sacraments, except to grant absolution for sins to those close to death. He cannot appeal the judgment, as Pope Francis has ruled that it is “definitive”.