CHICAGO (IL)
Chicago Tribune
By Kim Geiger and Manya A. Brachear, Chicago Tribune reporters
9:17 p.m. CDT, May 9, 2013
A former parishioner at St. Matthew Catholic Church in Schaumburg sued an ex-Roman Catholic priest and the Archdiocese of Chicago in Cook County Circuit Court on Thursday, accusing the former church leader of sexual abuse.
According to the complaint, the accused, who at the time was a priest, began abusing the plaintiff in 1995, when he was 10 years old, and continued until he was 18.
The suit alleges that the man provided alcohol to the boy and on some occasions gave him $200 or $300. In late 2003 he gave $3,000 to the plaintiff, now 28, and secured a written assurance that the abuse would not be reported to law enforcement or religious authorities, according to the complaint.
In a separate case, victims advocates expressed concern Thursday that a former Chicago priest removed from ministry 20 years ago for a substantiated allegation of sexual misconduct now works as a counselor for Advocate Medical Group in Des Plaines.
Russell Romano, who served as a priest in the Chicago Archdiocese from 1973 to 1991, now reportedly works for the Illinois Professionals Health Program, a publicly funded treatment program for Illinois health care professionals.
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