Child molesters of the Catholic Church

Associated Press (ap.org, 3/20/19); Seth Auberon, Pat Macpherson, Wisdom Quarterly

Attorney Jeff Anderson speaks as attorney Marc Pearlman, left, and clergy sexual abuse victims listen during a news conference, Wednesday, March 20, 2019, in Chicago. Advocates for clergy abuse victims say their list of 395 priests or lay people in Illinois who have been publicly accused of sexually abusing children is far more extensive than the names already released by the state's six Catholic dioceses (AP).

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Attorneys: Church list of accused Illinois clergy incomplete

We suffer and suffer, and where is God?

CHICAGO, Illinois - Advocates for clergy sexual abuse victims released the names Wednesday of 395 priests and lay people in Illinois they say have been publicly accused of sexually abusing children -- a roster more than twice as long as what the state's six dioceses previously released.

Attorneys handed out a 182-page report that includes the names, assignment histories and, in most cases, photographs of the clergy. They said their list has at least 200 more names than church leaders disclosed because the church only lists those it determines have been credibly accused of sexual misconduct with children.

 

Yes, where, lord, where were you?!

"We've chosen to reveal this information because the Catholic bishops and the religious orders who are in charge and have this information and hold it secret have chosen to conceal it," said attorney Jeff Anderson, a Minnesota-based attorney and longtime advocate for clergy abuse victims. "We have chosen to reveal it."

Who cares now? Time to sue the Church.

Anderson said he and others began collecting the names from lawsuits, news reports and other sources after a blistering report by the Illinois attorney general.

The report concluded Catholic dioceses in the state had not released the names of at least 500 clergy accused of sexually abusing children and that the dioceses had done a woefully inadequate job of investigating allegations and in some cases didn't investigate at all. Many of those on the list are dead, and only one of the people named remains in active ministry.

Dioceses in Chicago, Springfield and Joliet all issued statements defending their handling of clergy abuse allegations, and emphasized that they report all allegations to authorities, immediately removing clergy from ministry while they are under investigation. More