CHICAGO (IL)
WGN

[with video]

Mark Holihan

by Robert H. Jordan Jr
Anchor/Reporter

Page after page of documents, released by the Archdiocese of Chicago – some of them heavily redacted – show a pervasive climate of sexual abuse by many priests, many of whom never received a slap on the wrist for egregious behavior involving untold numbers of minors, mostly boys.

Going back at least 40 years and mostly covering the tenures of Cardinals Joseph Bernardin and current head, Francis Cardinal George, the papers indicate an almost inescapable conclusion that both leaders knew abuses were widespread and prevalent.

This 1986 handwritten letter from a concerned parishioner to Cardinal Bernardin warns of instances when altar boys reported to their parents discovering Fr. Mark Holihan fondling other boys. Another document from a retired priest, Leo Kinsella refers to Fr. Holihan by the nickname of, “Happy Hands Holihan.”

Additionally, Fr….