IL- Another Catholic predator is "outed"

He’s never been exposed in Chicago before

Cleric worked for ten years at south side parish

And despite allegations against him, he’s still on the job in MA

SNAP also exposes nine Jesuits who shielded notorious pedophile

He’s in prison, was Mother Teresa’s confessor & molested Chicago kids

Cardinal George should denounce and discipline those who shielded him

WHAT

Holding signs and childhood photos at a sidewalk news conference, clergy sex abuse victims and their supporters will

-- publicly expose, for the first time, a credibly accused child molesting cleric who spent six years at a Chicago parish and is still on the job today in Massachusetts,

-- make public a list of nine Jesuit priests who ignored or hid reports and warnings about a high-profile convicted serial predator priest,

They will also urge Cardinal Francis George to

--publicly denounce the nine Jesuits and urge their supervisors to discipline them, and

--take similar steps to punish any archdiocesan officials who are shown (in the soon-to-be-released 6,000 pages of church abuse records) to have protected predators or endangered kids.

WHEN

TODAY, Thursday, Jan. 16 at 1:30 p.m.

WHERE

On the sidewalk outside the Chicago archdiocesan headquarters, 835 N. Rush Street (at E. Chestnut St.) in downtown Chicago

WHO

Four-five adults who belong to a self-help group called SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAPnetwork.org). Some were molested as kids; others are concerned Catholics. One is a Missouri woman who is SNAP’s long time outreach director.

WHY

SNAP has learned that a Catholic cleric, who worked at a Chicago parish for ten years, molested in California. He now works as a chaplain at a shopping mall in Peabody MA (in Boston archdiocese).  http://www.carmelitechapel.com/staff/4578571183

He is Brother Damien Chong, who was associate pastor of St. Gelasius Church on Chicago’s south side from 1991 to 1997. Before being sent to Chicago, Chong worked in LA-area Catholic schools for nearly 30 years. His photo and full assignment history are here:

http://www.bishop-accountability.org/ca_la/2013_01_31_LA_Final_Addendum/#Chong

The allegations against Chong's name surfaced publicly in a supplemental list of 49 accused clerics that the Los Angeles archdiocese quietly posted on its website last year.  

http://articles.latimes.com/2013/feb/13/local/la-me-0214-priest-abuse-20130214

Chong is a member of a religious order called the Carmelites. The Carmelite’s regional office is in Darien IL (630-971-0724, 630-971-0050, [email protected]). Because Chong is a religious order cleric, he isn't and won't be listed on Cardinal Francis George's list of predator priests on the Chicago archdiocese website.

SNAP will also release an 11 page fact sheet listing nine Jesuit priests who – according to church records - knew of or suspected crimes or "red flags" about Fr. Donald McGuire yet failed to stop his crimes. McGuire is a notorious serial child molesting cleric who lived and worked for years in Chicago (but is now imprisoned).  SNAP believes that three of the clerics who ignored or hid his crimes still work or live in the Chicago area. The group wants Cardinal George to denounce and discipline them for their misdeeds which enabled McGuire to keep hurting kids for years.

SNAP believes that the worst McGuire "enabler" still in the Chicagoland area is Father Richard (Rick) McGurn. McGurn was second-in-command of the Chicago Jesuit Province from 2000-2003. Despite having an detailed knowledge of both McGuire's problematic history and his sexual behavior disorder, court documents show that McGurn took little or no decisive steps to protect children from McGuire. As a result, McGurn dealt with ongoing reports of inappropriate behavior by McGuire without taking real action to safeguard others. 

CONTACT

Barbara Dorris 314-501-0003 cell, [email protected] David Clohessy 314-566-9790 cell, 314-645-5915 home [email protected]