CHICAGO (IL)
WLS
January 21, 2014 (CHICAGO) (WLS) — Priest sex abuse files – thousands of pages of information collected by the Archdiocese of Chicago on 30 Chicago priests – are now public.
Key documents | Priest Documents
The documents provide the broadest look yet into the details of what the archdiocese knew and did – or didn’t do – about the scandal. More than 6,000 pages of documents were released to the attorneys last week, and they made the documents public on Tuesday.
Victim attorneys say the documents show that the archdiocese concealed the abuse for decades and operated “in denial.”
“A portrait of misplaced priorities. A portrait of misplaced loyalty,” attorney Jeff Anderson said. “The documents tell a tale that has been longstanding, going back from the 50s and demonstrating through at least 2006 conscious choices. Those choices were made by the top official.”
The Chicago Archdiocese released a statement that read, in part: “The Archdiocese acknowledges that its leaders made some decisions decades ago that are now difficult to justify. They made those decisions in accordance with the prevailing knowledge at the time . . . While we complied with the reporting laws in place at the time, the Church and its leaders have acknowledged repeatedly that they wished they had done more and done it sooner, but now are working hard to regain trust, to reach out to victims and their families, and to make certain that all children and youth are protected.”
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