CHICAGO (IL)
The Guardian (UK)
Mark Guarino in Chicago
Thursday 6 November 2014
The archdiocese of Chicago released about 15,000 pages of previously secret files online Thursday in an attempt to provide fuller transparency related to sexual abuse cases by clergy going back several decades.
The documents detail interpersonal communications between victims, the priests and top ranking archdiocese officials. Combined with a first set of files released in January, they represent the most complete picture to date of how the archdiocese handled reports of sexual abuse of minors by 66 of its priests since 1952.
“We are committed to transparency with the people we serve. We cannot change the past but we hope we can rebuild trust through honest and open dialogue. Child abuse is a crime and a sin,” said Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, who added the archdiocese is “concerned first and foremost with bringing healing to abuse victims”.
The new documents involve 36 priests, all but 14 of whom are still living and removed from the priesthood. Ninety-two percent of the abuse detailed took place prior to 1988. Half the incidents took place before 1978. The archdiocese says it is aware of 352 incidents of known abuse since 1952.
The documents released in January were made public as part of a settlement agreement with victims. Cardinal George announced then that for the full sake of transparency, he wanted all remaining documents released voluntarily by the end of the year.
Because the statute of limitations has run out for the majority of these incidents, most of the priests who are alive are protected from criminal prosecution. The church however has paid about $130m to settle victim claims using money raised primarily by selling church land. Most of the cases came to light after 2000, as media reports brought national attention on clergy abuse, leading to increased oversight within the church. The Chicago archdiocese points out that it had already developed a system for handling sexual abuse allegations a decade prior.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.