Former U.S. church leader Theodore McCarrick, who was defrocked after a Vatican investigation determined he molested children and adults, denied the claims in an exclusive interview with Slate.
McCarrick told Slate he wanted to specifically discuss one allegation: James Grein's claim McCarrick had groped him while hearing Grein's confession.
"The thing about the confession, it's a horrible thing," McCarrick said, sounding suddenly more urgent. "I was a priest for 60 years, and I would never have done anything like that. . . . That was horrible, to take the holy sacrament and to make it a sinful thing."
McCarrick also denied the other allegations.
"I'm not as bad as they paint me," he said.
"I do not believe that I did the things that they accused me of," he said.
When asked by the reporter how it could be multiple seminarians described similar stories, about harassing and groping, McCarrick responded: "I think that they were encouraged to do that."
He also said many other seminarians and clerics visited the home and "never had any problems like that."
Grein is suing the Archdiocese of New York.
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