By Manya A. Brachear, Chicago Tribune reporter
2:27 a.m. CDT, May 25, 2013
UNITED STATES
Chicago Tribune
Even after settling a multimillion-dollar lawsuit last week that accused nearly a dozen men of abuse at Brother Rice, St. Laurence and Leo high schools, the Irish Christian Brothers wouldn’t say whether allegations of sexual misconduct against those clergy were substantiated.
And although the leader of Chicago’s Jesuits apologized last week for his order’s failure to stop Donald McGuire, a priest they knew was abusing children for 40 years, the order doesn’t publish a list of other members with allegations of abuse against them.
The Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, passed by the nation’s Roman Catholic bishops in 2002, doesn’t require that level of transparency. Those dioceses that do publicize names of credibly accused clergy aren’t bound to do so, experts say.
But religious orders like the Irish Christian Brothers and Jesuits have been far less forthcoming than many dioceses.
Yet, as lawsuits and cases continue to surface 11 years after bishops adopted that charter, some orders are starting to weigh the pros and cons of naming those they have established as sexual offenders. Among the lessons learned from last week’s settlements totaling $36 million was the danger of keeping secrets.
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