Home US News Catholic Church in Illinois withheld names of 500 priests accused of abuse

US News

Catholic Church in Illinois withheld names of 500 priests accused of abuse

December 20, 2018

318

Catholic Church in Illinois withheld names of 500 priests accused of abuse

Updated on: December 19, 2018 / 7:17 PM / CBS News

Six Catholic dioceses in Illinois have failed to disclose the names of at least 500 priests accused of sexual abuse, the state's attorney general announced Wednesday. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan said the preliminary findings are the result of a monthslong investigation that began in August after a grand jury report in Pennsylvania found 300 "predator priests" in that state.

"By choosing not to thoroughly investigate allegations, the Catholic Church has failed in its moral obligation to provide survivors, parishioners and the public a complete and accurate accounting of all sexually inappropriate behavior involving priests in Illinois," Madigan said in a statement. "The failure to investigate also means that the Catholic Church has never made an effort to determine whether the conduct of the accused priests was ignored or covered up by superiors."

The Illinois dioceses have publicly identified 185 priests who have been "credibly" accused of sexually abusing children, Madigan said. But the dioceses had received accusations against at least 500 additional priests, and Madigan said many of those accusations were not thoroughly investigated or brought to authorities.

"Among the common reasons the dioceses have provided for not investigating an allegation is that the priest or clergy member was deceased or had already resigned at the time the allegation of child sexual abuse was first reported to the diocese," Madigan's office said.

In a statement to the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich said: "I want to express again the profound regret of the whole church for our failures to address the scourge of clerical sexual abuse."

Madigan said her office had spoken to all six dioceses in the state and met with bishops, lawyers and diocesan representatives.

The Pennsylvania grand jury released findings from a two-year-long investigation into sexual abuse by priests in the state. It relayed the findings of more than 1,000 victims, but said there could be thousands more victims. The report said the cover-up to protect church leaders went all the way up to the Vatican.

First published on December 19, 2018

Addicted to your smartphone? How track your screen time

Apple and Google both have tools to help you manage your screen time on mobile devices

updated 7M ago

Catholic Church in Illinois withheld names of 500 priests accused of abuse

"By choosing not to thoroughly investigate allegations, the Catholic Church has failed in its moral obligation"

updated 5M ago

Sully the service dog prepares to embark on a new adventure after Christmas

He will be serving a wounded warrior at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, joining six other dogs in the program

updated 11M ago

Advertisers flee Tucker Carlson's show over immigration comments

Carlson has refused to back down, despite calls from critics for companies to pull their ads from his show

updated 13M ago

Deputy kills family, confesses over radio before turning gun on himself

The Florida school officer killed three relatives including his granddaughter, 6, before killing himself, sheriff says

1H ago

Senate votes to make lynching a federal crime

The bill insures that lynching would have an enhanced sentence, like other federal hate crimes

1H ago

Backlash mounts over Trump's withdrawal from Syria

Trump ally Lindsey Graham declared it an "Obama-like mistake," and one senior administration official called the situation a "catastrophic disaster"

1H ago

DC attorney general sues Facebook over privacy scandal

Lawsuit accuses social media giant of misleading users about the security of their personal data

6H ago

GAO says VA failed to spend millions allocated for suicide prevention

A report from the Government Accountability Office found the VA only spent $57,000 of $6.2 million for suicide prevention

7H ago

Fed hikes rates, but nods to slowing growth

In a notable policy shift, the Fed now expects to raise rates more slowly in 2019 amid signs of a cooling economy

1H ago

Church holds marathon Mass to shield family from deportation

The marathon Mass has been going on 24 hours a day, for six weeks, five days and 23 hours, without a single break

updated 12M ago

Judge rules against Trump's asylum restrictions

The ruling applies to immigrants in expedited removal proceedings

5H ago

Israel's Jesus Trail blends history and stunning views

The trail takes hikers through sites significant to various religions, including the town of Cana, where the water-to-wine miracle is said to have happened

6H ago

White House orders Pentagon to pull troops from Syria immediately

Republican senators were left in the dark about the decision, and they aren't happy about it

updated 16M ago

Taliban says U.S. talks focused on prisoner swap, U.S. withdrawal

U.S. peace envoy calls 3-day negotiations "productive," as Taliban says no breakthroughs but key points of potential deal taking shape

9H ago

Macaulay Culkin is "Home Alone" again in new ad

"You have the house to yourself," Google Assistant tells a grown-up Kevin McCallister, 28 years after he was first left home alone

updated 40M ago

Eliza Dushku breaks silence on $9.5 million settlement

Actress Eliza Dushku speaks out about her harassment on-set with "Bull" in an op-ed

updated 55M ago

CBS employees call for transparency and accountability from CBS board

After the CBS board of directors said its investigation into former CEO Leslie Moonves and workplace culture issues was complete, some CBS employees and others called for the board to be more open about the findings

8H ago

Gisele Bündchen in note to younger self: "You are enough"

"Keep following your heart and don't apologize for being you," she writes

4H ago

Penny Marshall, "Laverne & Shirley" star, dead at 75

Actress Penny Marshall, best known for playing Laverne DeFazio on "Laverne & Shirley," has died

18H ago

Addicted to your smartphone? How track your screen time

Apple and Google both have tools to help you manage your screen time on mobile devices

updated 7M ago

DC attorney general sues Facebook over privacy scandal

Lawsuit accuses social media giant of misleading users about the security of their personal data

6H ago

Surprising discoveries on how tornadoes form

The very rare and strong December tornado in Washington state comes as scientists say twisters are growing more powerful every year

7H ago

3 space station crew members heading home

Three space station crew members wrap up a 196-day mission that included patching a leak in their Soyuz spacecraft

10H ago

Facebook gave tech giants more access to users' data than it said: report

New York Times story could add to the pressure Facebook's been under regarding its protection of the privacy of that data

updated 15M ago

NYC bill would let patients of abusive doctors amend birth certificates

A New York City Council Member said the bill was inspired by a woman who wants a sex offender former doctor removed from her twins' birth certificates

2H ago