State Report on Clergy Sexual Abuse Won't Be Discussed at U.S. Bishop Retreat in Mundelein

By Elyssa Cherney
Chicago Tribune
December 21, 2018

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-met-illinois-priest-sex-abuse-20181220-story.html

St. Mary's of the Lake Seminary in Mundelein, Ill., will be the site of a seven-day spiritual retreat for U.S. bishops in January. (Jose More/Chicago Tribune)

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan made clear Wednesday that her decision to release a report identifying hundreds of allegations of sexual abuse by Catholic priests was supposed to send a message to a contingent of U.S. bishops gathering in the state next month.

But the Archdiocese of Chicago fired back Thursday, saying bishops will not discuss the report or its findings at a historic seven-day spiritual retreat at Mundelein Seminary in suburban Chicago in January.

The retreat “will strictly be time for prayer, fasting and spiritual lectures,” Anne Maselli, a spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of Chicago, said in an email. “No one other than bishops are included in the retreat. … It will not be open to the public.”

Archdiocese of Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich will serve as host of the gathering, which was convened by Pope Francis in response to an explosive grand jury report in Pennsylvania this summer that found hundreds of church leaders in that state covered up clergy sexual abuse for about seven decades.

Cupich did not make himself available for an interview Thursday to explain why the retreat would not address Madigan’s report.

In a statement, a spokeswoman for Madigan said it was “disappointing and absurd” that bishops would not discuss the recent report.

“We now know the Church in Illinois failed to investigate many allegations and has disclosed only a small fraction of the names of accused clergy,” spokeswoman Eileen Boyce said in an email. “Crimes of the past have created a crisis in the present that must be addressed and resolved.”

Boyce said some of the oldest allegations were from the 1990s, but concerned behavior from decades earlier. She would not discuss the more recent allegations, citing the ongoing investigation.

Other local critics say the church should open up the retreat and allow parishioners to confront the clergy about their concerns.

Hille Haker, who specializes in Catholic moral theology at Loyola University Chicago, said the church will miss an important opportunity to be more transparent if it does not allow the public to participate in the retreat.

“Not to give the Catholics in Illinois or Chicago at least the opportunity to confront the bishops and make them listen seems not good enough in this situation,” Haker said.

“To withdraw or retreat into your private rooms of space and deal with it your own way will not bring about the change,” Haker added.

The retreat, which could include some 300 bishops from around the country, comes at a time when more than a dozen state attorneys general have initiated investigations of sexual abuse by clergy since the Pennsylvania report. It also precedes a February summit in Rome that will bring key bishops together to address the sex abuse scandal.

In Illinois, Madigan’s preliminary report did not disclose names of the 690 priests implicated in the allegations, or provide information on the time or location of the allegation. The report said about 500 of the allegations had never before been disclosed to the public.

Previously, Catholic officials from Illinois’ six Catholic dioceses have publicly identified only 185 clergy with credible allegations against them.

Madigan’s preliminary findings slammed the church for failing to thoroughly investigate all the allegations, particularly when the priest had died, left the ministry or was a member of a religious order and therefore not under the authority of a diocese. Although Madigan is leaving office in February, her successor, Kwame Raoul, has vowed to continue the investigation.

In a news release on Wednesday, Madigan’s office said the findings also provide a critical document for discussion at the January retreat in Mundelein.

William Kunkel, the general counsel for the Archdiocese of Chicago, said he could not comment on the retreat. He reiterated that the Archdiocese of Chicago since 2002 has reported all allegations of clergy abuse to police and the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. Kunkel told the Tribune that the archdiocese has no immediate plans to review past allegations because it has already reported those to prosecutors in Cook and Lake counties.

Contact: echerney@chicagotribune.com