Catholic Church in Illinois May Have Hidden Hundreds of Complaints of Sexual Misconduct

The Catholic Church in Illinois, which includes the Chicago Archdiocese, may have hidden hundreds of allegations of sexual misconduct made against priests and other members of the clergy, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan said in a press conference late Wednesday. . .

“Madigan opened an investigation into the issue in Illinois in August after a grand jury report revealed widespread clergy abuse in Pennsylvania,” the news site continued. “The attorney general has been reviewing thousands of pages of internal documents released from each of Illinois’ six diocese as part of its investigation.”

Each diocese in Illinois has released a list of “credibly” accused members of the clergy, Madigan said, but those lists only include around 185 names, total, and don’t reference other priests who were accused of misconduct but were not “adequately investigated.” Each individual diocese, including Chicago, has its own definition of an “adequate investigation,” and there are no uniform rules for handling claims of sexual misconduct or reporting allegations to law enforcement. . .

The news comes on the heels of a separate report issued by the Midwest Province of Jesuits that claims at least 65 Jesuit brothers and priests across 12 states have been “credibly accused” of sexual misconduct, including 18 priests who operated within the Chicago archdiocese. “Half a dozen” of those priests were teachers at a Chicago-area prep school.

According to the report, one of those priests, Fr. Donald McGuire, was moved around several times over the course of four decades before being finally defrocked in 2007 — only after being convicted of bringing a minor across state lines for the purpose of having sexual contact. (Read more from “Catholic Church in Illinois May Have Hidden Hundreds of Complaints of Sexual Misconduct” HERE)

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