ILLINOIS
Chicago Sun-Times
March 1, 2006
BY CATHLEEN FALSANI Religion Reporter
More than 35 years after he says a Roman Catholic priest molested him at a Downers Grove parish, a 52-year-old Minneapolis man has filed a class-action lawsuit against the Diocese of Joliet, saying its bishops "revictimized him" for decades.
Lawyers for George Knotek filed the class-action lawsuit in DuPage County Court in part to try to force Bishop Joseph Imesch, head of the Joliet diocese, to disclose the names of all priests accused of sexually abusing minors.
The lawsuit, which does not seek monetary damages, also asks that the diocese turn over all documents regarding clergy molestation of children for court supervision so the documents cannot be destroyed, hidden or "misplaced."
In late January, the same attorneys filed a similar class-action lawsuit against the Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago.