CHICAGO (IL)
Black Catholic Messenger [San Francisco CA]
April 16, 2025
By Nate Tinner-Williams
Two defendants are among some 30 individuals alleged to have conspired in filing false claims against notoriously former priest Daniel McCormack.
The Archdiocese of Chicago is suing to stop payments to individuals it says made false claims of child sexual abuse at a Black Catholic parish to rack up monetary settlements, according to court documents.
The action comes in the form of a countersuit filed on March 24 against two John Does who filed civil complaints concerning alleged abuse perpetrated by Daniel J. McCormack, a 56-year-old former priest defrocked in 2007.
“The point of this action is to protect the interests of legitimate victims,” James Geoly, general counsel for the archdiocese, told Chicago Catholic.
“This was a very egregious case of very bad behavior. We have a very open, compassionate system, and these people took advantage of that.”
The archdiocese’s filing in Cook County Circuit Court says a number of connected individuals, including convicted felons and gang members, caught onto a series of legitimate abuse cases against McCormack, who the Illinois attorney general has described as “one of the most infamous child abusers anywhere” in the state.
The archdiocese has paid more than $9 million in abuse settlements involving the Irish-American former priest, who has been accused by some 130 alleged victims from as far back as his seminary studies—including during a trip to Mexico. He was ordained a priest in 1994 and served in several Black Catholic communities in Chicago, including St. Ailbe’s in Calumet Heights, Holy Family on the Near West Side, and St. Agatha’s in North Lawndale.
McCormack was arrested but not charged over a sexual abuse allegation in 2005, after which he continued to serve at St. Agatha’s. Two months later, the archdiocesan review board recommended his removal from ministry—a request the archbishop, Cardinal Francis George, OMI, denied.
McCormack was arrested again in 2006, after which he pleaded guilty to aggravated criminal sex abuse and was sentenced to five years in prison. He served the latter part of his sentence in a state-run mental health facility and was released in 2021. According to the state’s child sex offender registry, he continues to reside in Chicago, half a mile from the archdiocesan chancery.
The individuals being sued by the archdiocese this year are said to have been part of a scheme to join in the legal claims against McCormack, despite having never been associated with the communities he served at the time.
Illinois eliminated its statute of limitations for child sex abuse cases in 2017, shortly after which the archdiocese won a lawsuit against a man who had previously made phone calls from a state prison describing plans to file a false claim against McCormack. A judge sanctioned another alleged victim in 2023.
Some 30 individuals in total are alleged to have conspired to file false claims against McCormack, with plans to share or transfer funds after payouts. Their phone conversations, which were reviewed by the archdiocese, included tips on how to retain attorneys and embellish their stories.
“When I read the draft of the complaint, I was surprised by the extent of it,” said Geoly.
“False claims make it necessary to investigate all claims more aggressively, which places a greater burden on true survivors. Our attention is directed toward survivors, not fraudsters seeking to gain financially from others’ pain and suffering,” he added in a public statement.