() — More than 450 adult Catholic clergymen abused nearly 2,000 minors in the state of Illinois over a period of nearly 90 years, according to a report released Tuesday by Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul.
“This report reveals names and detailed information of 451 Catholic clergy and religious confreres who abused at least 1,997 children in all dioceses of Illinois,” Raoul wrote in a message accompanying the report.
The investigation identified 275 allegedly abusive clergy and confraternities in the Archdiocese of Chicago; 43 in the diocese of Belleville; 69 in Joliet; 51 in Peoria; 24 in Rockford; and 32 in Springfield. Some accused of abuses worked in several dioceses, bringing the total to “discreet” 451 accused, according to the report.
The report claims to have identified 149 individual offenders previously undisclosed by the dioceses, and that the dioceses continued to publicly disclose the alleged offenders during the course of the investigation.
The report contains detailed accounts of the alleged sexual abuse, as well as lists of the accused clerics. It concludes with recommendations for more uniform and coordinated investigations of Church sexual abuse in Illinois, for greater attention to survivors, and for dioceses to update their information on alleged abusers.
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul speaks about the results of his office’s investigation into the sexual abuse of minors by Catholic clergy, in Chicago on May 23, 2023. Credit: Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune /AP
A statement from Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago, provided to on Tuesday detailed “concerns” about the findings, saying that all of the names revealed in the report were already known to the church and had been made public.
The Rockford diocese apologized for “the pain suffered by the surviving victims of childhood sexual abuse” in a statement provided to , noting that Rockford was the only diocese where the report found no additional names that were necessary. reveal.
The report “has served as a reminder that some Church clergy committed shameful and despicable sins against innocent surviving victims and caused harm that simply cannot be repaired,” the Springfield diocese said in a statement.
Belleville Bishop Michael McGovern detailed in a statement the diocese’s work on child sexual abuse, noting that, to their knowledge, no credible accused of abuse currently works in the diocese.
The Peoria diocese said the community “has implemented significant changes that have made the Church safer for minors,” in an emailed statement to on Tuesday.
has contacted the Joliet diocese for comment.
