Survivors and Advocates Call for Public Update on AG Abuse Probe

Survivors and Advocates Call for Public Update on AG Abuse Probe

“2019 came and went without any acknowledgement from AG Raoul”

They Ask AG to Update the Public on his Progress and Renew Outreach Efforts

WHAT

At a news conference, leaders of two clergy abuse prevention and advocacy organizations will release a letter they have written and sent to Illinois’ top law enforcement official, requesting a public update on the ongoing investigation into cases of institutional sexual abuse in Illinois.

WHEN

Tuesday, December 31 at 10:30 AM

WHERE

On the sidewalk outside the Chicago Archdiocesan Headquarters at 835 N. Rush Street (corner of Rush and Pearson)

WHO

Leadership from two Chicago-area clergy abuse advocacy organizations including the Executive Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests and the Co-Chairmen of the Board of the Archangel Foundation.

WHY

On December 19, 2018, then-Attorney General Lisa Madigan released a preliminary report regarding her investigation into cases of sexual violence committed by Catholic clergy and efforts to minimize those crimes by Church officials in Illinois. Despite that explosive report and the assurance that her investigation would be continued by her predecessor, the entirety of 2019 has passed without any public update from Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s office.

“In the past year we have seen significant efforts made by secular officials across the country to increase public awareness of this issue and take steps to protect children and ensure justice for survivors,” said Zach Hiner, Executive Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. “Despite Illinois being one of the early leaders on this issue, 2019 came and went without an update from our attorney general’s office.”

“A.G. Madigan’s report instilled feelings of hope and confidence in survivors and advocates, but those feelings are diminishing after a year of silence from A.G. Raoul’s office,” said James Egan, Chairman of the Board of The Archangel Foundation. “We are sure that there are dedicated investigators working on this issue, but we hope that the attorney general will take steps to update the public and show they are doing everything they can to hold Church officials accountable.”

Despite the silence from the attorney general, the issue of clergy abuse and cover-up in Illinois had been well documented in 2019. Since A.G. Madigan released her report in late 2018, the following has occurred:

• Diocesan officials in Chicago assigned Fr. Michael O’Connell, a priest who has twice been accused during his career of abusing children, to a position at St. Bartholomew’s School;
• As many as 1,000 allegations of sexual abuse committed by clergyand reported to DCFS were never investigated;
• Religious order officials moved Fr. John McCloskey, a pastor against whom they had already settled an abuse complaint and had promised to keep out of ministry, to a new church in Illinois while telling the community that he was “a priest of good character and reputation” and “in good standing”; and
• Parishioners in Niles, IL learned that a previous pastor had been found “credibly accused” of abuse, but only because of the outreach done by church officials in Minnesota, not in Illinois.

“Clergy abuse continues to be an issue that is dominating the headlines” said Roman Krasnitsky, President of the Board of Archangel Founation. “Investigations by civil authorities are the best way to get to the bottom of this issue that affects nearly 3.5 million catholics in Illinois. We hope that A.G. Raoul will release an update on his progress soon so that citizens across our state can be better informed on how we can protect more children from abuse and create safer, more informed communities.”

Archangel and SNAP are calling on A.G. Raoul’s office to release a public update in January on the progress his investigation has, including:

• The release of an updated report to that builds off of the information released in A.G. Madigan’s 2018 report and goes deeper into the issue of hidden abusers, efforts by church officials to cover up crimes, and recommendations for policy stakeholders to address the problem, and
• Renewed public outreach efforts from the A.G. office to bring survivors, witnesses and whistleblowers forward.

CONTACT: Zach Hiner, Executive Director, SNAP ([email protected], 517-974-9009), James Egan, Chairman of the Board, The Archangel Foundation ([email protected], 414-510-4069), Roman Krasnitsky, President, The Archangel Foundation ([email protected], 312-420-1535)

(SNAP, the Survivors Network, has been providing support for victims of sexual abuse in institutional settings for 30 years. We have more than 25,000 survivors and supporters in our network. Our website is www.SNAPnetwork.org)

(The Archangel Foundation is a Chicago-based non-profit organization which provides resources and support for survivors of Catholic clerical sexual abuse across the world. Our website is www.archangelfoundationinc.com)