ILLINOIS
Journal Courier
By Brett Luster bluster@civitasmedia.com
Pope Francis met in Vatican City this week with six victims of sexual abuse by Catholic priests, assuring followers that bishops would be held accountable for protection of minors, while not spelling out the concrete changes in enforcement of policies already in place.
A Catholic official representing the Springfield diocese, which includes Jacksonville and area parishes, says Pope Francis underscored the need for healing among Catholics since cases of priest sexual abuse surfaced in 2003, rocking the church across America.
Robert Gilligan represents all six Catholic dioceses across Illinois as the executive director of the Catholic Conference of Illinois. He said the church in Illinois already has policies protecting children who have been sexually abused.
He also said there is a zero tolerance policy regarding priests who have been accused of wrongdoing.
According to Gilligan, clerics alleged with sexual abuse with minors would be removed from ministry positions indefinitely so facts can be gathered and during such times the priests would not serve in positions in which they would have contact with children.
“We err on the side of caution,” he said. …
Kate Bochte, a leader of the Chicago-based Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said church leaders need to do more to protect children from molestation.
She also said when people speak out from within, there are unintended consequences.
Bochte said she was shunned in 2003 when she and her husband began to speak out against alleged clergy sex abuse by being removed from positions in her former suburban Chicago parish.
Bochte said she recalled hearing abuse stories one-on-one from people who were molested by priests.
“That’s when I realized the whole story wasn’t getting out,” said Bochte, not a survivor herself. “There’s a lot of cover-up in the church.”
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