Catholic clergy in Illinois sexually abused more than 1,900 minors, state attorney general says in report

 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/

Pope defrocks two Chilean bishops over child abuse claims

Pope defrocks two Chilean bishops over child abuse claims
13 October 2018

Pope Francis has stripped two Chilean bishops of their duties as priests amid claims that they are linked to the sexual abuse of minors.

 

They are Francisco José Cox Huneeus, archbishop emeritus of La Serena, and Marco Antonio Órdenes Fernández, archbishop emeritus of Iquique.

 

The Vatican issued a statement on their defrocking after a meeting between the pontiff and the president of Chile.

The decision could not be appealed against, it said on Saturday.

 

It was announced as Pope Francis met Chile's President Sebastian Piñera in the Vatican, where the two spoke particularly about "the painful scourge of abuse of minors".

 

More than 100 Catholic clergy are being investigated in Chile over alleged sex crimes and attempts to cover them up.

All 34 of Chile's bishops offered their resignations to the Pope in May over the scandal. The pontiff accepted three resignations in June.

 

Police have raided offices and seized Church documents in the capital Santiago and the city of Rancagua as part of their investigation.

In September Pope Francis defrocked former priest Fernando Karadima, 88, for having sexually abused minors....

 

A leaked Church report in September revealed more than 3,600 children in Germany were assaulted by Catholic priests between 1946 and 2014.

 

Most of the victims were boys, and more than half were aged 13 or younger.

And in July, Australian Catholic archbishop Philip Wilson was sentenced to 12 months in detention for concealing historic child sexual abuse - the most senior Catholic globally to be convicted of the crime....

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-45850354

 

 

Child and Ritual Abuse Research https://ritualabuse.us

 

Child Abuse Wiki   http://childabusewiki.org

 

Articles by Neil Brick   http://neilbrick.com 

Spotlight: the reporters who uncovered Boston's Catholic child abuse scandal

Spotlight: the reporters who uncovered Boston's Catholic child abuse scandal

A Boston Globe investigation into widespread child abuse by Catholic clergy has been turned into a new film starring Mark Ruffalo and Rachel McAdams. The Pulitzer-winning team talk small-town secrets, collective guilt – and whether anything has really changed within the church

Henry Barnes Wednesday 13 January 2016

In 2002, the Boston Globe’s Spotlight team, a group of five investigative journalists, uncovered the widespread sexual abuse of children by scores of the district’s clergy. They also revealed a cover-up: that priests accused of misconduct were being systematically removed and allowed to work in other parishes.

The team’s investigation brought the issue to national prominence in the US, winning them the Pulitzer prize for public service. The journalists’ story, and those who suffered at the hands of the clergy, are the subject of Spotlight, a Hollywood movie starring Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo and Rachel McAdams. It is a love letter to investigative journalism and a reminder that, 13 years and some $3bn in settlement payments later, survivors in Boston and beyond are still waiting for satisfactory long-term action from the Vatican....
http://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/jan/13/spotlight-reporters-uncovered-catholic-child-abuse-boston-globe

Did Pope Francis really say 2% of Catholic clergy are pedophiles?, Rome- Pope estimates # of predator priests, A woman is raped every 90 minutes in Zimbabwe, Butler-Sloss steps down from child abuse inquiry

Did Pope Francis really say 2% of Catholic clergy are pedophiles?
By Lauren Raab July 13, 2014

An interview that credits Pope Francis as saying about 2% of Roman Catholic clerics are pedophiles stirred controversy Sunday, as the Vatican sought to raise questions about the article's accuracy and others called on the pope to take more action on the issue.

The interview by Eugenio Scalfari, published Sunday, quotes the pope as calling the rash of sex abuse scandals “a leprosy in our home” and saying the pedophiles include “priests and even bishops and cardinals,” according to a CBS News translation....

Meanwhile, the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, said the “real percentage of predator priests” is much higher than 2% and called on the pope to defrock clerics who participate in cover-ups....

At a United Nations hearing this year, the Vatican said it had defrocked 848 priests over the last decade and ordered 2,572 to “live a life of prayer and penance” because of abuse allegations. There are about 414,000 Roman Catholic priests worldwide, according to the BBC; if 2% are pedophiles, that would be more than 8,000....
http://www.latimes.com/world/europe/la-fg-wn-pope-francis-pedophile-priests-20140713-story.html

Rome- Pope estimates # of predator priests
For immediate release: Sunday, July 13, 2014
Statement by Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, Outreach Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests

....Finally, “U.S. bishops have reported receiving allegations of abuse by 6,427 priests in 1950-2013, or 5.9% of the 109,694 U.S. priests active 1950-2002, according to the John Jay report. Including the 5,356 priests ordained since 2002 brings the total to 115,050, of whom 5.6% have been accused of abuse,” according to BishopAccountability.org.

Here are more specific numbers, from BishopAccountability.org:

--After the March 2009 release of audit documents by the NH AG, the names of 74 accused Manchester priests are known, or over 8.9% of the 831 diocesan priests, which extrapolates to 9,768 nationally

--Covington diocese states that 9.6% of its priests have been accused, which extrapolates to 10,531 nationally

--Over 10% of Providence RI priests have been accused, which extrapolates to over 10,969 nationally

--Richard Sipe estimates that 9% of U.S. priests have offended, which extrapolates to 9,872 priests nationally....
http://www.snapnetwork.org/rome_pope_estimates_of_predator_priests

A woman is raped every 90 minutes in Zimbabwe - ZimStat
by Staff Reporter 13 July 2014 

AT least one woman is raped every 90 minutes in the country, preliminary statistics of the first quarter of 2014 leaked from the Zimbabwe National Statistics (ZimStat) office have revealed.The data shows that about 500 women were sexually abused monthly in the first three months of the year, translating to about 16 women being raped daily.

A total of 1 524 cases were reported in the first three months of this year, up from 1 285 recorded in the same period last year.

Of the total cases recorded in the first quarter of this year, 780 are children between the ages of 11 and 16 years while 276 were children aged between five and 10 years....

National Aids Council (NAC) Gender and Workplace co-ordinator, Ms Vimbai Mdege, expressed sadness at the indication that the majority of sexual abuse victims were children under the age of 16....

"....If you look at the figures you will see that the majority of the victims of rape are children under the age of 16. Most of the rape cases are for ritual purposes...."
http://www.bulawayo24.com/index-id-news-sc-national-byo-50485.html


Butler-Sloss steps down from child abuse inquiry  14 July 2014
Retired judge Baroness Butler-Sloss has stepped down as head of a probe into child sex abuse saying she was "not the right person" for the job.

Lady Butler-Sloss has been under pressure to quit from MPs and victims concerned about her family links.

Her late brother, Sir Michael Havers, was attorney general in the 1980s....
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-28295282 

Derry home ‘colluded’ with RUC and clergy to hide truth of abuse, inquiry hears

Derry home ‘colluded’ with RUC and clergy to hide truth of abuse, inquiry hears
Witness accuses state agencies of failing a generation of children in residential care   Dan Keenan Mon, Mar 3, 2014

A former resident of St Joseph’s home at Termonbacca in Derry has accused Catholic clergy, state agencies and the police of failing a generation of children in residential care.

The witness, who cannot be named, told the Historical Institutional Abuse inquiry he had received kind and loving treatment from one named nun while he was a resident during the 1970s.

However he alleged many others suffered under a system of childcare which left them vulnerable to physical and sexual abuse by others. He alleged he suffered at the hands of other boys but felt unable to raise it when it happened.

“There was more than an element of collusion between the RUC, social services and the clergy,” he said.

“And the aftercare service as I see it that was arranged for these boys who left care was either going to [other institutions], prison or just get themselves dead.”

He continued: “Many of these boys I know are addicted to alcohol, drugs, on prescribed medication – they are now my age and older. Their whole lives have been tainted. Their whole lives have been destroyed.”....
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/derry-home-colluded-with-ruc-and-clergy-to-hide-truth-of-abuse-inquiry-hears-1.1711031  

UN slams Vatican for 'efforts to cover up' pedophile priests in sex abuse scandal, More than 20 schools face compensation claims from alleged abuse victims in wake of Jimmy Savile scandal 'Savile scandal made mum tell cops about Roache rape' Alleged victim's son speaks out, Freddie Starr arrested for third time over sex abuse claims

UN slams Vatican for 'efforts to cover up' pedophile priests in sex abuse scandal

By Alexander Smith, NBC News contributor  1/16/2014

The Vatican faced blistering criticism from a United Nations committee Thursday over allegations it protected pedophile priests at the expense of victims in what constituted a worldwide sex abuse scandal.

It was the first time representatives of the Holy See were questioned in public on cases of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy around the world.

The U.N. committee's main human rights investigator, Sara Oviedo, led the most intense grilling the Holy See has received on the issue, according to a report by The Associated Press.

Given the "zero tolerance" policy of the Vatican, she asked, why were there "efforts to cover up and obscure these types of cases?"....
http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2014/01/16/22324032-un-slams-vatican-for-efforts-to-cover-up-pedophile-priests-in-sex-abuse-scandal


More than 20 schools face compensation claims from alleged abuse victims in wake of Jimmy Savile scandal
    Jan 12, 2014
    By Keith Perry

....More than 20 schools face compensation claims from alleged abuse victims after the Jimmy Savile scandal.

They include fee-paying institutions Caldicott, in Farnham, Bucks, where Deputy PM Nick Clegg went and Ashdown House, East Sussex, London Mayor Boris Johnson's prep school.

The allegations span from the 1950s to the 1990s.

Jessica Standley, of lawyers Slater & Gordon, said since Savile there had been "an increase in victims reporting abuse at institutions"....
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/jimmy-savile-scandal-more-20-3013389 


'Savile scandal made mum tell cops about Roache rape' Alleged victim's son speaks out

THE son of a woman accusing Bill Roache of rape has said she wouldn’t report him as she “didn’t want to cause a rift in his family”.

17th January 2014

The man, who was not identified, added that he only became of his mum’s experience after the Jimmy Savile scandal.

Giving evidence, the alleged rape victim's son said he recalled a conversation with her about the time the Jimmy Savile and Cyril Smith cases emerged in 2012....

The man told his mum that she should go to the police as there may be more women out there and that “sometimes it takes that one person to have the strength to come forward”.

"She really didn't want to. She was telling me straight away that some things are just best left alone in the past.

"She didn't want to cause a rift between his family and on top of that she desperately didn't want anyone to find about it."

He said that remained the case and some members of her family still don't know.

Roache, 81, of Wilmslow, Cheshire, denies the rapes and five counts of indecent assault involving the four other complainants aged 16 and under on dates between 1965 and 1971....
http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/361003/Bill-Roache-trial-Humiliated-rape-victim-only-told-cops-after-Jimmy-Savile-scandal


Freddie Starr arrested for third time over sex abuse claims
The comedian was first arrested over a year ago by detectives from Operation Yewtree, the investigation launched in the wake of the Jimmy Savile scandal

By Hayley Dixon 14 Jan 2014

Freddie Starr has been arrested for a third time by police investigating the Jimmy Savile sex abuse scandal.

The comedian, 71, was told that he faces a further allegation of sexual offences when he attended a police station in Warwickshire by appointment.

Starr was first arrested more than a year ago by detectives from the Metropolitan Police’s Operation Yewtree, the investigation launched in the wake of claims against Savile....
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/jimmy-savile/10572394/Freddie-Starr-arrested-for-third-time-over-sex-abuse-claims.html 

Vatican refuses to give UN panel full details of clerical sex abuse cases, Pope Setting Up Commission on the Sexual Abuse of Children by Priests

Vatican refuses to give UN panel full details of clerical sex abuse cases
Holy See angers campaigners by not disclosing information requested by UN committee on the rights of the child

    Lizzy Davies in Rome
    theguardian.com, Wednesday 4 December 2013

The Vatican has refused to give a United Nations panel information it requested on clerical sex abuse, in a move that it said was part of its confidentiality policy but which was criticised as "a slap in the face" for victims.

In a series of questions asked in the runup to a public hearing scheduled for January, the UN committee on the rights of the child had requested the Holy See provide details of abuse cases and specific information concerning their subsequent investigation and handling.

But, in its response, the Holy See said that although it had answered the questions in a general way, it was not its practice to disclose information on specific cases unless requested to do so by another country as part of legal proceedings.

In the 24-page document, the Holy See said it had been "deeply saddened by the scourge of sexual abuse" and regretted the involvement of some members of the Catholic clergy.

It added that it had "amended norms" regarding the suitability of candidates for the priesthood, and had taken other steps including the revision of some canon law rules "to ensure that clerics and religious are properly disciplined".

But it did not give all the details requested by the committee in a lengthy, multi-part question on the "sexual violence against children committed by members of the clergy, brothers and nuns in numerous countries around the world"....
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/04/vatican-refuses-un-panel-details-clerical-sex-abuse-cases

Pope Setting Up Commission on the Sexual Abuse of Children by Priests

By ELISABETTA POVOLEDO, ALAN COWELL and RICK GLADSTONE
Published: December 5, 2013

VATICAN CITY — In his first concrete step to address the clerical sexual-abuse problem in the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis will establish a commission to advise him on protecting children from pedophile priests and on how to counsel victims, the Vatican said Thursday....

Whether the new commission portends a significant change in how the Vatican deals with abusive priests and their protectors remains to be seen, experts on the church said. Yet the timing of the announcement, two days after a United Nations panel criticized the Vatican over its handling of abuse cases, suggested that the pope and his closest advisers wanted to at least be seen as tackling the issue with greater firmness.

Soon after he became pope, Francis directed the Vatican last April to act decisively on abuse cases and punish pedophile priests, in a meeting with subordinates at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the church’s enforcement arm. But he had said little about the sexual abuse problem since....
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/06/world/europe/pope-setting-up-commission-on-clerical-child-abuse.html

BishopAccountability.org Data on the Crisis The Human Toll

BishopAccountability.org  Data on the Crisis  The Human Toll                                             

Thousands of Catholic clergy and religious have raped and sodomized tens of thousands of children—perhaps more than 100,000 children—since 1950. These crimes were committed in secret, and bishops nurtured that secrecy. Nearly 15,000 survivors have broken through the silence, and their accounts have created an in-depth picture of the crisis....

The U.S. bishops have reported receiving allegations of abuse by 6,115 priests in 1950-2011, or 5.6% of the 109,694 U.S. priests active since 1950....

Richard Sipe estimates that 9% of U.S. priests have offended, which extrapolates to 9,872 priests nationally....

Approximately two-thirds of sitting U.S. bishops were alleged in 2002 to have kept accused priests in ministry or moved accused priests to new assignments....

Fewer than 2 percent of sexual abuse allegations against the Catholic church appear to be false.

http://www.bishop-accountability.org/AtAGlance/data.htm