VATICAN CITY • Former US cardinal Theodore McCarrick has been expelled from the Roman Catholic priesthood after he was found guilty of sexual crimes against minors and adults, the Vatican said yesterday.

Pope Francis has decided that the ruling, which followed an appeal by the man who was a power broker as archbishop of Washington, DC from 2001 to 2006, was final.

A Vatican statement said his crimes were made more serious by "the aggravating factor of the abuse of power".

McCarrick, who in July became the first Roman Catholic prelate in nearly 100 years to lose the title of cardinal, has now become the highest-profile church figure to be dismissed from priesthood in modern times.

The decision comes as the Church grapples with a decades-long sexual abuse crisis that has exposed how predator priests were moved from parish to parish instead of being defrocked or turned over to the civilian authorities in countries across the globe.

With the ruling, Pope Francis appears to be sending a signal that even those in the Church's highest echelons will be held accountable.

Defrocking means McCarrick can no longer call himself a priest or celebrate the sacraments.

The allegations against the defrocked priest date back to decades ago. He has responded publicly to only one of the allegations, saying he has "absolutely no recollection" of an alleged case of sexual abuse of a 16-year-old boy more than 50 years ago.

Vatican spokesman Alessandro Gisotti said the ruling showed that "different treatment for bishops who have committed or covered up abuse in fact represents a form of clericalism that is no longer acceptable".