Catholic clergy in Illinois sexually abused more than 1,900 minors, state attorney general says in report BY CARA TABACHNICK MAY 23, 2023
"In many instances, allegations were reported and not acted upon, the report found"
An investigation has substantiated child abuse claims against Catholic clergy in Illinois by more than 1,900 victims, state Attorney General Kwame Raoul said in a news conference detailing the findings of the office's five-year investigation that uncovered hundreds more cases than first reported by the dioceses in 2018.
More than 100,000 pages of diocesan documents and 600 confidential contacts with survivors of child sex abuse helped the state's office piece together the 696-page report released Tuesday on clergy sexual abuse in all six Catholic dioceses in Illinois, the office said....
Raoul's predecessor, former Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, began investigating the scope of state clergy sexual abuse in 2018 after a Pennsylvania grand jury report documented the abuse of 1,000 minors in six dioceses in that state, the office said. The revelations in that report shocked dioceses around the country and numerous state attorneys general pledged to investigate clergy within their own states – Illinois included.
At that time, the Catholic dioceses of Illinois publicly listed only 103 substantiated child sex abusers, the office said.
The investigation covered all six Illinois dioceses — Chicago, Belleville, Joliet, Peoria, Rockford and Springfield — which serve the state's 3.5 million Catholics. Investigators substantiated child sex abuse allegations against 451 clerics and religious brothers. The largest number was in Chicago, where there were 150 reported abusers, and Joliet, with 52 reported abusers, the report found. Since some reported abusers were registered in two dioceses, there were a total of 494 substantiated abusers reported, the report said.
The depth and breadth of the sexual abuse varied – as did the punishments they received, the report states. In many instances, allegations were reported and not acted upon, the report found. In 1993, two survivors accused one priest at the Chicago Diocese of abuse, but the review board did not recommend that the priest be punished, the report said. Instead, the clergy had him monitored and he was still allowed to meet with teenage girls, the report found. The abuse continued and at least three more survivors reported abuse at the hands of the priest until in 2002 - almost a decade later – he was removed from the clergy, the report said.
One priest accused of abusing numerous young boys was known by the parish children as "Happy Hands," the report said, but he evaded punishment for years. Prosecutors often declined to move the case forward — an assistant state's attorney told Our Lady of the Snows parishioners, "It was our decision not to put the children through any court process, because we feel that our goal can be achieved without doing that," the report said. The priest moved from parish to parish after accusations against him started in 1990 but he didn't leave the Catholic church until 2008, the report said. He was never punished for his alleged abuses, the report said, and instead, he resides at "his cottage—the same residence where he had been accused so many times of abusing young boys."
At least 1,997 survivors reported being abused by Illinois clergy, the report said. Sexual abuse survivors shared their narratives – which were essential to the report's investigation said the Illinois Attorney General – and many spoke frankly about the struggles they've faced since their abuse.
Nearly every survivor struggled with mental health issues, the report found, with some turning to alcohol, addiction and others having anxiety, and feelings of unworthiness.... Some survivors struggled with suicidal thoughts, while others dealt with physical health and financial issues.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/illinois-catholic-clergy-sexually-abused-over-1900-minors/
Illinois clergy sex abuse investigation uncovers hundreds more cases in Catholic church BY BRAD EDWARDS, MEGAN HICKEY MAY 23, 2023
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A nearly five-year investigation by Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul's office has uncovered hundreds more cases of child sex abuse by Catholic clergy members than first reported by church officials.
A nearly 700-page report released Tuesday features detailed narrative accounts of child sex abuse committed by Catholic clerics.
https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/illinois-attorney-general-clergy-sex-abuse-report/
