CHICAGO (IL)
CBS Chicago

[with video]

Jay Levine

(CBS) – The common link among all the Roman Catholic priests, whose records of alleged sexual abuse were released yesterday, is that they all reported to the Archbishop of Chicago.

Four Archbishops, who’ve led the Archdiocese from the late 1950′s until now had the final say and unquestioned authority over all personnel decisions.

CBS 2 Chief Correspondent Jay Levine reports time after time, the secret files show them agonizing over whether or not a charge was credible, giving even those who admitted wrongdoing, a second chance.

One of the earliest reports goes all the way back to 1958 when Albert Cardinal Meyer was told about Father Marion Snieg sexually abusing two young boys.

30 years later, in a letter to Cardinal Bernardin, retired bishop Raymond Goedert, then serving as Vicar for priests, said “I suspect we all just lost track of…