Natalia Chi
Now is the time of reckoning for the state’s Roman Catholic diocese. It’s time to come clean and bring child sexual abuse in institutions to light and, if possible, bring abusers and their perpetrators to justice.
The doors are open for Cardinal Blaise Kupich, with Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raul’s nearly 700-page report released this week showing just how alarmingly pervasive the problem is in Illinois, Responsible for making it happen: The number of child sexual abusers in the church, which is four times the number previously reported by the parish.
Keupich took the report’s release as an opportunity to address the issue, pledge to fix the underrepresentation (it’s an expression of philanthropy), and to speak out against the sex abuse scandal that has plagued the church for years. He could have used it as an opportunity to express his full anger.
But he didn’t. The general public received this instead:
“We have not examined this report in depth, but we are concerned that the data may be misinterpreted or presented in a misleading manner,” Kupich said. “We believe that all children, regardless of whether they are being raised in religious or secular institutions, have the right to protection.”
Mr. Kupich’s remarks strike us as surprisingly foul-mouthed, defensive and biased, inferior to him and his position.
There is no room but to fully accept the harsh and brutal truth. The church in Illinois refused to acknowledge hundreds of priests and other religious figures who were allegedly abusive.
Raul hopes report ‘sheds light’
As The Sun-Times’ Robert Hargus reported on Tuesday, Raul’s report found that 451 clergy and monks within the state’s Catholic church abused “at least” 1,997 children over 70 years. It revealed that.
But until the five-year investigation that began under then-Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan in 2018, the state’s Catholic parish had only 103 witnesses to allegations of child sexual abuse. .
“Our record is clean,” Kupich said at a 2018 private gathering of about 200 men studying at Mundelein Theological Seminary to become priests. “I am confident that when the Attorney General looks through our files, he will actually see that we are doing our job.”
But that doesn’t seem to be the case, according to Raoul’s research, which has reviewed over 100,000 pages of records from three parishes covering Chicago, Joliet, Rockford, and Downstate.
The report also includes more than 600 confidential contacts from alleged abuse victims.
“I hope this report sheds light on both those who abused innocent children by violating their positions of power and trust, and the church leaders who covered up that abuse,” said Raoul. said in the report.
“Forgettable Sins”
Kupich responded to the report with a YouTube video and a written statement.
“It is neither fair nor wise to focus solely on the Catholic Church, which has made the greatest progress in this field,” he said.
Can you imagine a firefighter-like objection asking for credit for extinguishing part of a burning building while the rest was still burning?
The parish and the public, especially abuse victims and loyal members of the Catholic Church, deserve better benefits from Qupich.
Joliet Bishop Ronald A. Hicks, whose diocese was severely criticized in Raul’s report, received a more apt response.
“A serious crime like sexual abuse of a minor should never be forgotten,” Hicks told The Sun-Times. “When we remember the damage, we need to stay vigilant to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
“I hope this report sheds light on both those who abused innocent children by violating their positions of power and trust, and the church leaders who covered up that abuse,” Raoul said. Told.
The state’s parishes are becoming more transparent about prosecuting clerics who engage in sexual abuse.
But it was, in no small part, prompted by an Attorney General’s office investigation, public outcry, and Sun-Times coverage over the past few years.
The attorney general’s report, and the stark discrepancy between his numbers and those of the parish, raised big questions for Raul at a press conference on Tuesday: Church officials lied about the extent of sexual abuse in the parish. have you ever been
Raul didn’t say for sure, just saying, “I think the numbers speak for themselves.”
But Mr. Keupich also needs to speak out, and we are committed to using the Attorney General’s report as a tool to take more decisive action against child sexual abusers. Are expected.
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