Ex-priest Convicted of Abuse Accused in New Lawsuit

By Mitch Smith
Chicago Tribune
September 5, 2013

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-catholic-abuse-lawsuit-20130905,0,2542226.story

[Archive: Accused priest was rising star]

Daniel McCormack (center) arrives at the Cook County Criminal Courts Building in Chicago in 2008. (Michael Tercha, Chicago Tribune)

Another person has come forward saying he was fondled by Daniel McCormack, a former Roman Catholic priest who was convicted of sexually abusing boys at his West Side parish.

In a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Cook County Circuit Court, an unidentified 21-year-old man alleges that, as a child, he was fondled twice by McCormack, who was the pastor at St. Agatha Catholic Church. The alleged victim was a student around 2003 and '04 at St. Agatha, the lawsuit says. The plaintiff repressed memories of the abuse until this summer, according to the suit.

McCormack was considered a rising star in the Archdiocese of Chicago before boys from his parish came forward with abuse allegations. He was removed from the priesthood and sentenced to five years in prison in 2007. The archdiocese has since agreed to pay millions to settle civil claims regarding the former priest.

When McCormack came up for parole after serving 21/2 years of his sentence, the Cook County state's attorney and the Illinois attorney general petitioned the court to have him committed under the Sexually Violent Persons Commitment Act, arguing that he remained a threat.

McCormack, 44, is in the custody of the Illinois Department of Human Services, according to the sex offender registry.

The new lawsuit asks for more than $50,000 in damages from Cardinal Francis George. An archdiocese spokeswoman said Wednesday evening that she hadn't seen the lawsuit and thus couldn't comment on it.

Contact: mitsmith@tribune.com