CHICAGO, Ill. – A multi-year investigation into child sex abuse by Catholic clergy in Illinois revealed nearly 2,000 children were victims.
The 700-page report released Tuesday by Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul also revealed the names and detailed information of the 451 clergy members responsible for the abuses across the six dioceses in the state.
The report has detailed narrative accounts, many of which were written based off the experience of survivors and told from their point of view.
“I was raised and confirmed in the Catholic church and sent my children to Catholic schools. I believe the church does important work to support vulnerable populations; however, as with any presumably reputable institution, the Catholic church must be held accountable when it betrays the public’s trust,” Raoul said in a statement.
The report contains more than 100,000 pages of documents held by the dioceses with more than 600 survivors providing information through interviews, letters, phone calls, and emails.
The findings are broken down into five sections; which include how each diocese handled allegations, the extend of abuse by clerics, and recommendations from the Attorney General’s Office to handle future abuse claims.
The investigation revealed a pattern of failing to support survivors, covering up or ignoring allegations, and revictimizing survivors when they came forward to report abuse.
It also found that church officials put the institution of the church and its reputation over protecting children and giving priests the benefit of the doubt.
The Attorney General’s Office says Illinois Catholic dioceses have adopted policies to improve how it handles alleged sex abuse claims as a result of the investigation. Some of those policies include investigating clerics who have resigned or died and to publicly list a religious order or extern a cleric who is substained as a child sex abuser if they have a significant connection to the diocese.
Raoul says that while some of the abusers may never be held accountable in a court of law, the report could provide a public accounting and bring some healing to survivors.
