PEORIA (IL)
Journal Star
October 18, 2018
By Phil Luciano
Taking particular aim at Peoria, a lawsuit claims Catholic dioceses and bishops statewide conspired to create a decades-long public “nuisance” that endangered children by failing to release the names and files of clergy accused of sexual abuse.
Filed in Cook County Circuit Court, late Wednesday, the suit relies heavily on allegations of pedophilia by two Peoria clergy. One was removed from ministry years ago, while the other never has been publicly associated with such charges.
Peoria Bishop Daniel Jenky did not immediately respond to a Journal Star request for comment, nor did Patricia Gibson, legal counsel for the diocese.
Named as defendants were the dioceses of Peoria, Springfield, Rockford, Joliet and Belleville, along with the Archdiocese of Chicago. The suit also names the Catholic Conference of Illinois, which represents Illinois bishops and archbishops and their diocese.
The suit was brought by four plaintiffs, represented by Jeff Anderson & Associates, a legal firm based in St. Paul, Minn., that specializes in sexual abuse by clergy. Two of the plaintiffs make accusations of pedophila within the Peoria Diocese. One alleges sexual abuse between 1979 and 1984 (starting when the plaintiff was 8 and ending when he was 14) by then-Father John Anderson, who has since been publicly removed from the priesthood. Another plaintiff claims a different Peoria clergyman — heretofore never named publicly regarding molestation allegations — had sexual contact in 1981 with the plaintiff, then 15.
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