National Abuse reports;
bishops ‘kept their promises’

By Michelle Martin
Staff writer

As Catholics around the country got their first look at the extent of clerical sexual abuse in the Catholic Church nationally, officials from the Archdiocese of Chicago were updating information on clerical sexual misconduct here since 1950.

A national study of the 195 dioceses and eparchies in the United States, which was to be released Feb. 27 after The Catholic New World went to press, shows that approximately 4,400 clergymen—about 4 percent of those who served from 1950 to 2002—were accused of child sex abuse during that period.

Full details on the report, issued by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, will be in the March 14-27 edition.

The John Jay report was commissioned by the National Review Board, a lay group chaired by Illinois Appellate Court Justice Anne M. Burke, and created by the U.S. bishops’ conference under the terms of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People first approved in Dallas in 2002.

The board was also to release its own study Feb. 27 about the “how and why” of the U.S. abuse crisis. Both reports were part of the bishops’ mandate to the review board.

Records of the Archdiocese of Chicago from 1950 to 2003 show there was reason to suspect 55 priests had engaged in sexual misconduct with minors in 142 cases. The accused priests make up about 2 percent of the 2,513 archdiocesan priests who served during that period. All cases have been reported to civil authorities, said archdiocesan officials.

Cardinal George said he wanted to emphasize that none of the priests who were the subject of substantiated allegations remain in ministry. Of that group, 13 have died, 22 have resigned from the priesthood and 20 have been withdrawn from ministry, according to archdiocesan officials.

By making sure all the priests who have credible allegations against them were removed, the archdiocese fulfilled the promises the bishops made in Dallas, according to the cardinal.

Over 53 years, the archdiocese spent $26.9 million for victim assistance, settlements and support. Since 1992, when the Bernardin Commission established procedures to deal with misconduct cases, the archdiocese spent an additional $5.9 million for the treatment and monitoring of priests and $5.9 million on legal expenses related to abuse cases—including $1.3 million to defend a priest and school principal who were judged to be not guilty by a civil jury.

As Catholics—lay and clergy—around the country braced themselves for the reports’ release, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said they marked another phase in the bishops’ efforts to “be sure the steps that we’ve taken will prevent this problem from ever occurring again.”

Archdiocesan Chancellor Jim Lago took a more positive view. “My hope is that the reaction of the people—after being shocked and dismayed at the number of priests and the amount of money—is to recognize that the bishops asked for this report because they are serious about dealing with it. They are serious about keeping them out of ministry.”

“They (the bishops) realize they can’t change the past, but maybe they can prevent this from happening in the future. It’s a sobering moment.”

Since the draft was made public by CNN, Lago said, he has found that many people are willing to look squarely at the problem and at the church’s efforts to address it.

“They understand what’s happening,” he said. “They’re not pleased by it.”

Bishop Wilton D. Gregory of Belleville, Ill., said in a Feb. 20 phone teleconference that “we’re preparing for the truth” with the reports’ release.

Writing the day before in The Wall Street Journal, Bishop Gregory said more than one person had asked him why the bishops requested the 50-year study by the John Jay College. They asked: “Won’t it just be another wound?”

Despite the process being painful, “the church in the United States needs to shine a light on the past to gather as much information as possible about how this dreadful chapter in our history came about,” he wrote. “We cannot change history; but greater and more accurate knowledge will help assure that it is not repeated.”

The archdiocese had already released basic information in two reports, one in 1993 by Cardinal Bernardin covering the period 1950-1992, and one covering 1993-2002.

As in the John Jay report, neither of the earlier reports included the names of accused priests. Some had died before accusations were made against them and had no opportunity to defend themselves, and nearly all were accused after the statute of limitations had run out and had no chance to clear their names in court.

However, as each priest has been withdrawn from ministry in recent years, his name and the parishes where he served have been made public. Civil authorities in Cook and Lake counties were notified of all allegations, no matter how old or whether they were judged to be credible.

The archdiocese is launching a service that will allow Catholics to ask about the status of individual priests. People will be able to make inquiries through a Web site, over the telephone or in writing, by fax or mail. Answers will be mailed back, so inquirers must supply their names and a mailing address.

If someone asks about a priest who has not come under suspicion of sexual abuse, the inquirer will receive information only about his current assignment. If the priest did have a credible allegation made against him, the inquirer will be told that, along with what actions were taken.

In a letter sent to parishioners across the archdiocese Feb. 27, Cardinal George acknowledges the embarrassment and anger the crisis has brought to many Catholics, and that there is nothing the church can do to make up for what happened in the past. Many of the dioceses which released information in advance of the John Jay report noted that the abuse allegations seemed to peak between the 1960s and 1980s.

 

To report suspected sexual abuse of a minor by a priest or deacon, call the archdiocese’s Office of Professional Responsibility, (800) 994-6200.

 

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