The Archdiocese of Chicago will on Wednesday hand thousands of pages documenting clergy sex abuse allegations to victims' attorneys who have for years fought to hold the Catholic church accountable for its handling of such claims.
The attorneys plan to publish documents detailing allegations of crimes concealed and priests assigned to positions that allowed them to continue molesting children.
The nation's third-largest archdiocese agreed to release the files as part of settlements with abuse victims, and will include complaints, personnel documents and other files for about 30 priests with substantiated abuse allegations.
The documents are similar to recent disclosures by other dioceses in the US that showed how the church shielded priests and failed to report child sex abuse to authorities. Chicago officials said most of the abuse occurred before 1988 and none after 1996.
"Until there is public disclosure and transparency ... there is no way people can learn about it and make sure it does not happen again," said attorney Marc Pearlman, who has represented about 200 victims of clergy abuse in the Chicago area. He said he has been working to get the church to release the documents since 2005.
Archdiocese spokeswoman Susan Burritt said neither Cardinal Francis George nor archdiocese attorneys were available for comment Tuesday.
George, who has led the archdiocese since 1997, released a letter to parishioners Sunday in which he apologized for the abuse and said releasing the records "raises transparency to a new level." He also stressed that much of the abuse occurred decades ago, before he became archbishop.
"I apologize to all those who have been harmed by these crimes and this scandal, the victims themselves, most certainly, but also rank and file Catholics who have been shamed by the actions of some priests and bishops," George wrote to parishioners.
George said all of the incidents were reported to civil authorities and resulted in settlements with victims.
In fact, the archdiocese has paid millions of dollars to settle sexual abuse claims, including those against Father Daniel McCormack, who was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty in 2007 to abusing five children while he was parish priest at St Agatha catholic church and a teacher at a Catholic school. The next year, the archdiocese agreed to pay $12.6m to 16 victims of sexual abuse by priests, including McCormack.
Files on McCormack will not be among those released; they have been sealed by a judge because of pending court cases, Pearlman said. He said he and St Paul, Minnesota, attorney Jeff Anderson will re-release the McCormack documents that they have.
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Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Catholic Church will hand over sex abuse documents on Chicago priests
Associated Press (Chicago)
January 15, 2014
The Archdiocese of Chicago will on Wednesday hand thousands of pages documenting clergy sex abuse allegations to victims' attorneys who have for years fought to hold the Catholic church accountable for its handling of such claims.
The attorneys plan to publish documents detailing allegations of crimes concealed and priests assigned to positions that allowed them to continue molesting children.
The nation's third-largest archdiocese agreed to release the files as part of settlements with abuse victims, and will include complaints, personnel documents and other files for about 30 priests with substantiated abuse allegations.
The documents are similar to recent disclosures by other dioceses in the US that showed how the church shielded priests and failed to report child sex abuse to authorities. Chicago officials said most of the abuse occurred before 1988 and none after 1996.
"Until there is public disclosure and transparency ... there is no way people can learn about it and make sure it does not happen again," said attorney Marc Pearlman, who has represented about 200 victims of clergy abuse in the Chicago area. He said he has been working to get the church to release the documents since 2005.
Archdiocese spokeswoman Susan Burritt said neither Cardinal Francis George nor archdiocese attorneys were available for comment Tuesday.
George, who has led the archdiocese since 1997, released a letter to parishioners Sunday in which he apologized for the abuse and said releasing the records "raises transparency to a new level." He also stressed that much of the abuse occurred decades ago, before he became archbishop.
"I apologize to all those who have been harmed by these crimes and this scandal, the victims themselves, most certainly, but also rank and file Catholics who have been shamed by the actions of some priests and bishops," George wrote to parishioners.
George said all of the incidents were reported to civil authorities and resulted in settlements with victims.
In fact, the archdiocese has paid millions of dollars to settle sexual abuse claims, including those against Father Daniel McCormack, who was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty in 2007 to abusing five children while he was parish priest at St Agatha catholic church and a teacher at a Catholic school. The next year, the archdiocese agreed to pay $12.6m to 16 victims of sexual abuse by priests, including McCormack.
Files on McCormack will not be among those released; they have been sealed by a judge because of pending court cases, Pearlman said. He said he and St Paul, Minnesota, attorney Jeff Anderson will re-release the McCormack documents that they have.
..............
The Archdiocese of Chicago will on Wednesday hand thousands of pages documenting clergy sex abuse allegations to victims' attorneys who have for years fought to hold the Catholic church accountable for its handling of such claims.
The attorneys plan to publish documents detailing allegations of crimes concealed and priests assigned to positions that allowed them to continue molesting children.
The nation's third-largest archdiocese agreed to release the files as part of settlements with abuse victims, and will include complaints, personnel documents and other files for about 30 priests with substantiated abuse allegations.
The documents are similar to recent disclosures by other dioceses in the US that showed how the church shielded priests and failed to report child sex abuse to authorities. Chicago officials said most of the abuse occurred before 1988 and none after 1996.
"Until there is public disclosure and transparency ... there is no way people can learn about it and make sure it does not happen again," said attorney Marc Pearlman, who has represented about 200 victims of clergy abuse in the Chicago area. He said he has been working to get the church to release the documents since 2005.
Archdiocese spokeswoman Susan Burritt said neither Cardinal Francis George nor archdiocese attorneys were available for comment Tuesday.
George, who has led the archdiocese since 1997, released a letter to parishioners Sunday in which he apologized for the abuse and said releasing the records "raises transparency to a new level." He also stressed that much of the abuse occurred decades ago, before he became archbishop.
"I apologize to all those who have been harmed by these crimes and this scandal, the victims themselves, most certainly, but also rank and file Catholics who have been shamed by the actions of some priests and bishops," George wrote to parishioners.
George said all of the incidents were reported to civil authorities and resulted in settlements with victims.
In fact, the archdiocese has paid millions of dollars to settle sexual abuse claims, including those against Father Daniel McCormack, who was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty in 2007 to abusing five children while he was parish priest at St Agatha catholic church and a teacher at a Catholic school. The next year, the archdiocese agreed to pay $12.6m to 16 victims of sexual abuse by priests, including McCormack.
Files on McCormack will not be among those released; they have been sealed by a judge because of pending court cases, Pearlman said. He said he and St Paul, Minnesota, attorney Jeff Anderson will re-release the McCormack documents that they have.
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