Prominent Catholic Official Sent to Chicago Following Sexual Abuse Complaint

SNAP
January 8, 2019

http://www.snapnetwork.org/mccloskey_chicago_jan19

A prominent Opus Dei priest was sent to Chicago following a sexual abuse settlement in another diocese. Now, survivors and advocates are asking Chicago’s top catholic official to disclose if any other priests, nuns or brothers have been transferred into Chicago following abuse complaints.

Prior to his transfer to Chicago, Fr. C. John McCloskey was allowed to continue ministering to women in the D.C. area for at least a year after the complaint against him were made. While Opus Dei spokespeople minimize the abuse by pointing out that there has only been one settlement, those same spokespeople acknowledge that at least three allegations have been made.

Abusers often continue to hurt people until they are stopped. We believe it was irresponsible of Cardinal George to have allowed Fr. McCloskey to work in Chicago. In an effort to prevent this from happening in the future, we believe that Cardinal Cupich should disclose if any other priests, nuns, or brothers have been transferred into Chicago following allegations of misconduct.

This information is only becoming public now at the request of Fr. McCloskey’s first victim, who hoped to reach out to other victims. We applaud her for doing so. We also hope that this situation encourages other survivors who may be suffering in silence to come forward and report their abuse to police, not church officials.

CONTACT: Kate Bochte, SNAP Chicago (katebochte@gmail.com) Zach Hiner, Executive Director (zhiner@snapnetwork.org , 517-974-9009)