BishopAccountability.org
 
  New Sex Abuse Allegations Leveled at Priest

By Angela Caputo
Daily Southtown
October 23, 2007

http://www.dailysouthtown.com/news/616475,copy_of_102407priest.article

New allegations of clergy sex abuse have surfaced against a priest and convicted sex offender living in Oak Lawn.

The Rev. Donald J. McGuire - who was convicted last year of sexual abuse spanning back to the late 1960s - faces new charges he molested two more youth as recently as 2002, according to the victims' attorney, Marc Pearlman.

Two brothers, now 19 and 28 years old, filed a lawsuit Tuesday against McGuire, alleging the Jesuit priest began abusing the elder brother in the late 1980s when he was as young as 8 years old. The abuse continued through 2002 as McGuire also molested the younger brother at the family's Phoenix home and at religious retreats, according to the lawsuit.

The abuse of both boys occurred during confessions, when McGuire showed the boys pornography and fondled them, the lawsuit states.

"They never never knew of each other's abuse," Pearlman said.

A spokesman for the Chicago Province of the Society of Jesus, also known as the Jesuits, which is representing McGuire against additional abuse allegations filed by John Doe 116 in September, didn't return calls for comment Tuesday.

A phone number listed for McGuire's home in the 9500 block of South New England Avenue has been disconnected.

News that John Doe 116 had filed a lawsuit against the priest this fall prompted the men, who are Arizona natives, to come forward, according to Pearlman, who represents the plaintiff in that case as well. John Doe 116 and the victims were acquaintances through McGuire, Pearlman said.

That victim, who now is 21, is accusing McGuire of repeated abuse between 1999 and 2004, when he lived with the priest at the Jesuit Canisius House in Evanston, according to court documents. In that case, the victim is suing the Jesuits for negligence for allowing the boy to live in the order's home after it was known McGuire was accused of sexual abuse while at Loyola Academy in the late 1960s.

Shortly after the accusations surfaced, McGuire was reassigned to lead spiritual retreats both nationally and internationally, according to court documents. The 77-year-old rose in prominence through that role and even became a spiritual confidant to Mother Teresa.

"The Jesuits have been so reckless in this case," said Barbara Blaine, the president of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. Had McGuire been removed from the priesthood when questions of abuse first arose in 1969, the subsequent incidents may have been prevented, she said.

"They unleashed this man on the world knowing that he was a pedophile," Pearlman said.

Despite a criminal conviction for abusing Loyola Academy students in the late 1960s, McGuire remains free pending an appeal. His status within the clergy remains unclear.

Angela Caputo may be reached at acaputo@dailysouthtown.com or (708) 633-5993.

 
 

Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.