Two Illinois church groups post names of 35 child predators
(For Immediate Release July 12, 2023)
Two Illinois Catholic entities list new child molesting clerics
SNAP: “It’s the church’s 1st positive step since AG abuse report”
Two Joliet area Catholic institutions have quietly expanded their public lists of ‘credibly accused’ child molesting clerics, a month after Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said the state’s bishops were largely ignoring or downplaying 149 such priests and brothers.
Two weeks ago, the Joliet diocese quietly added the names of 12 more alleged predators to its website, all of whom belong or belonged to religious orders.
https://protect.diojoliet.org/documents/d/child-protection/clergy_with_substantiated_allegations
And late last month, a Damien-based religious order known as the Carmelites released what it called an ‘updated’ list of its members who are accused abusers. But in 2021, the order quietly posted a list of 32 alleged perpetrators on its website although the disclosure apparently attracted no public attention.
https://carmelites.net/protecting-gods-children/
Between the two organizations, roughly 35 priests are now being publicly identified as ‘credibly accused’ child molesters for the first time on church websites in Illinois.
“Catholic officials should stop being sneaky. When they deem a cleric is a ‘credibly accused child molester,’ they should shout it from the rooftops. Quietly putting his name on an obscure church website and telling no one is risky and irresponsible,” said David Clohessy of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. "It scares me to think of it how many more children may have been severely hurt over the years and decades that these so-called ‘men of God’ hid the identities of these predators."
The new accused priests on the Joliet diocesan ‘credibly accused list include Philip J. Coury, Leonard (Jeffrey) Fairfield, Terence Fitzmaurice, Leonard Gilman, William (Patrick) Gleeson, Robert (Barry) Kremer, Peter (Adrian) Lickteig, Bernard (Franz) Lickteig, Emmet Malone, Franklin (Felix) Prior, John-Benedict Weber and Francis (Lambert) Yore.
https://protect.diojoliet.org/documents/d/child-protection/clergy_with_substantiated_allegations
All of them belong to Catholic religious orders. Nine are Carmelites, one is a Benedictine (Fitzmaurice), one is a Vincentian (Coury) and one is a Franciscan (Malone).
“Sadly, only one of Illinois' six bishops has belatedly and grudgingly taken this small step forward – adding predators’ names after pressure from victims, advocates, and the state's top law enforcement officer," said Clohessy. "As best we can tell the state's five other bishops, including Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich, have done virtually nothing since the AG’s exhaustive report came out a full month ago - even though the AG gave them and urged them to adopt 50 pages of steps to better handle and prevent abuse.
"This tiny move towards transparency could and should have voluntarily happened years ago and no one should have had to beg or fight purportedly spiritual figures to take kids' safety seriously,” said Clohessy.
“The heads of the Carmelites and the Joliet Diocese should have held news conferences, issued press releases, made pulpit announcements, and put these names in every parish bulletin and church website possible,” said Clohessy. “That’s what officials who care about children – more than their own reputations, careers, and comfort – would do.”
Both lawyers currently represent women and men who were sexually victimized as youngsters by clergy, in Illinois and across the country.
The most recent abuser to be added to the Carmelites’ list, on May 30th of this year, is Br. Timothy Sklopan, a now-deceased cleric who worked at Mt. Carmel High School in Chicago and at parochial schools in Louisiana, California, New York, and New Jersey.
https://clergyreport.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/abuserlist/timothy-sklopan
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/66398763/timothy-sklopan
Other Carmelite abusers whose names are on the order’s website but have virtually evaded public notice include Patrick (Damien) Chong, Joseph (Mark) Ciganovich, Thomas Joseph Lucchesi, Kevin (Dennis) McBrien, Robert (Hugh) Murphy, Franklin (Felix) Prior and John-Benedict Weber, all of whom worked in the Chicago Archdiocese.
According to the Carmelites’ disclosures, at least 19 accused members of the religious order lived or worked in 36 locations across Illinois.
https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/chicagotribune/name/joseph-lucchesi-obituary?id=2582258
On May 18, facing pressure from the AG, Joliet Bishop Ronald Hicks quietly added nine more names to his ‘credibly accused’ list: Richard L. Bennett, Ardwin (Frederick) Hiller, Silas (Aloysius) Musholt, Charles (Edward) Potocki, Kenneth (John) Gansmann, Denis (Joseph) Hall, Jeffrey Salwach, Andre (Charles) Schludecker and Ildephonse (Edward) Skorup.
https://protect.diojoliet.org/documents/d/child-protection/clergy_with_substantiated_allegations
Then a month ago, SNAP leaders publicly prodded Hicks to add the five other publicly accused abusers: Richard McGrath, Robert Murphy, Thomas Corbino, Frank Luke Dalton and Harold Jochem.
Hicks, however, has not acted on SNAP’s request.
Four years ago, SNAP publicly pressured then-Joliet Bishop Daniel Conlon to add more names of alleged pedophile priests. Eventually, eight of the names SNAP suggested were added to the diocesan ‘credibly accused’ list: Fr. James Janssen, Fr. Daniel Leo Ryan, Fr. Gary Berthiaume, Fr. Robert Boley, Fr. William C. Wert, Fr. Kenneth John Gansmann, Fr. Louis P. Rogge and Fr. Jeffrey Salwach.
https://www.snapnetwork.org/victims_blast_joliet_bishop_on_abuse_apr19
Photos of some of the priests, and detailed information about most of them (including links to media accounts of criminal charges or civil lawsuits against them or their suspensions or defrocking by church supervisors) are available at BishopAccountability.org
The Carmelite in charge of abuse reports is Jorge Mora (630-929-4040, [email protected])
CONTACT: David Clohessy, SNAP Leader, Missouri ([email protected] 314-566-9790) Mike McDonnell, SNAP Interim Executive Director ([email protected], 267-261-0578)
(SNAP, the Survivors Network, has been providing support for victims of sexual abuse in institutional settings for 35 years. We have more than 25,000 survivors and supporters in our network. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)
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Winter Appeal 2023
To our friends,
2023 has been a long year with many ups and downs for us all. As we close out the year, we at SNAP hope that you are feeling like you are on your way to being healthy, fulfilled, and happy. This past year has brought both successes and challenges. Thanks to the support you have shown in the past, we’ve been able to celebrate the good days and weather the stormy ones. Now, we are once again asking for your support as we work to support survivors new and old as we ‘Move SNAP Forward.’
At SNAP we are proud to have hosted a very well-attended conference in August 2023. This event allowed us to gather friends, survivors, advocates, and allies for a weekend of camaraderie and connection. We were so happy to be able to welcome many first-time attendees to gather in person and are already looking forward to the next conference.
To strengthen our movement for justice, healing, and prevention, SNAP will be expanding our peer support and providing more volunteer opportunities in the coming year. Through this great work, we are ensuring survivor voices are represented as we work for significant change that will benefit children and survivors.
Right now, survivors worldwide are getting the help they need from SNAP, and more and more reach out to us daily, but we need your help to keep those programs going and get our volunteers the training they need to thrive.
Your tax-deductible gift to SNAP can help offset the cost of our important mission. If you are not in a position to contribute, you can still support us by sharing this letter with those who can. As we continue to fight for survivors across the globe, your donation or sharing the great work SNAP does will help us continue our work to protect the vulnerable, heal the wounded, and prevent abuse.
Your donation ensures SNAP will be there for those who need us more than ever!
Warmly,
Michael W. McDonnell, C.P.S.
Interim Executive Director
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