CHICAGO (IL)
Chicago Tribune
By Christy Gutowski and Todd Lighty,
Chicago Tribune
The Archdiocese of Chicago was set to release Thursday internal files of 36 priests who church officials determined had sexually abused children, a move Cardinal Francis George hopes will show he has been transparent about one of the most disturbing chapters in the Roman Catholic Church’s history.
The release of the once-secret priest files is one of George’s last acts as he prepares for retirement in less than two weeks and is part of an effort by the archdiocese to put the long-running scandal behind it.
Together with documents on more than two dozen priests released in January, the new files represent the archdiocese’s fullest public accounting of 63 of its priests who church officials found abused 352 children since 1950. The archdiocese has paid about $130 million to settle claims by victims, money raised largely through borrowing and selling church land.
The January files, made public as part of a settlement with victims, provided fresh details into how, for decades, the nation’s third-largest archdiocese quietly transferred accused priests from parish to parish, and how church officials failed to tell law enforcement about accusations that priests had sexually abused boys and girls.
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