CHICAGO (IL)
Chicago Sun-Times
January 29, 2006
BY CATHLEEN FALSANI Religion Reporter
Somberly, in a voice tempered by pain and contrition, Cardinal Francis George for more than an hour Saturday afternoon answered questions from reporters for the first time about the Rev. Daniel McCormack, a Chicago priest who was charged last week with sexually abusing two boys.
“The sins of priests and bishops destroy the church,” George said quietly, his eyes cast down at the podium standing between him and phalanx of reporters at the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago’s Pastoral Center on East Superior. “That is what we’re seeing.”
The cardinal-archbishop praised a nun for coming forward with an allegation against McCormack from 2000, expressed grief for the priest’s wounded flock and acknowledged inadequacies in the way priest’s case was handled.
“I’m worried,” he said. “I’m worried about the children. I’m worried about a lot of things.”