Archdiocese 'Clerical Abuse' Documents

Just released to the press at five minutes after midnight by the Archdiocese of Chicago:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Archdiocese of Chicago to Release
Decades-Old Clerical Abuse Documents

Documents Related to 36 Priests
will be Posted on Archdiocesan Website
at 9 a.m. on November 6

Chicago, November 5, 2014 - The Archdiocese of Chicago will release
documents on Thursday, November 6, at 9 a.m., related to 36 Archdiocesan
priests who have substantiated allegations of sexual misconduct with
minors, all of whom have been listed on the Archdiocese’s website for
years.  The documents will be posted on the Archdiocesan website,
www.archchicago.org. 

The documents are in addition to those released in January related to
30 other priests. The release, in combination with the January release,
covers all the priests who have substantiated allegations of sexual
misconduct with minors identified on the Archdiocese’s website, with
the exception of two priests where ongoing processes do not permit
release.  All of the documents relate to incidents that date back many
years, and in many cases, decades. No priest with even one substantiated
allegation of sexual abuse of a minor serves in ministry in the
Archdiocese of Chicago today.

“As we said in January, we are committed to transparency with the
people we serve,” said Francis Cardinal George, OMI. “We cannot
change the past but we hope we can rebuild trust through honest and open
dialogue. Child abuse is a crime and a sin. The Archdiocese of Chicago
is concerned first and foremost with bringing healing to abuse
victims.”

The Archdiocese followed a thorough document review process to
determine which documents could be released. It was designed to protect
victim privacy, comply with legal restrictions against publishing mental
health and medical information and protect the privacy of third parties
mentioned in the documents, but not involved in the abuse. Nothing was
redacted or removed to conceal the identity of abusers. This process
resulted in the release of approximately 15,000 pages of material on the
36 priests.

Ninety-two percent of the cases included in the documents occurred
prior to 1988. Additionally, all of the priests involved in this
document release are out of ministry and 14 are deceased. 

The Archdiocese of Chicago is in full compliance with the Charter for
the Protection of Children and Young People, adopted by the U.S. Bishops
in Dallas in June 2002. The Charter requires that no priest with even
one substantiated allegation of sexual abuse of a minor can serve in
public ministry. The Archdiocese of Chicago refers all reports of sexual
abuse immediately to civil authorities. The Archdiocese’s Independent
Review Board examines the findings of all investigations and makes
recommendations to the Archbishop regarding fitness for ministry and
safety of children.

The Archdiocese encourages anyone who has been sexually abused by a
priest, deacon, religious or lay employee, to come forward. Complete
information about reporting sexual abuse can be found on the
Archdiocesan website at
www.archchicago.org/departments/protection/protection.shtm. 

About the Document Release
The documents, which will be posted on the Archdiocese’s website at 9
a.m. on November 6, concern the following priests, all of whom are out
of ministry and 14 are deceased: 

● Alexander S. Baranowski*
● Richard B. Bartz
● Leonard A. Bogdan
● R. Peter Bowman*
● David F. Braun*
● Daniel P. Buck
● Eugene P. Burns*
● John W. Calicott
● Norman J. Czajka*
● Walter G. DeRoeck
● Francis E. Dilla*
● Richard W. Fassbinder*
● James V. Flosi
● Robert D. Friese
● Jesus P. Garza
● John E. Hefferan
● James Hoder
● Michael J. Hogan
● Walter E. Huppenbauer
● Robert L. Kealy
● John J. Keehan
● John J. Keough
● Leonard P. Kmak*
● William L. Lupo
● Robert J. McDonald
● Peter J. McNamara
● Gary M. Miller 
● Donald J. Mulsoff*
● James M. Ray
● John A. Robinson
● John F. Rohrich
● Joseph E. Savage*
● Albert(o) Tanghal*
● Richard G. Theisen*
● Joseph S. Thomas*
● Anthony J. Vader*

*Deceased 

About the Office for the Protection of Children and Youth
The Archdiocesan Office for the Protection of Children and Youth,
charged with assisting victims and their families and preventing abuse,
has trained and processed background checks on more than 173,700
priests, deacons, religious, lay employees and volunteers; conducted
more than 3,000 training sessions; and trained more than 200,000
children to protect themselves from sexual predators.

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