Victim of Priest’s Sexual Abuse Receives $2.3m Settlement

By Julie Unruh
WGN
November 26, 2013

http://wgntv.com/2013/11/26/victim-of-priests-sexual-abuse-receives-2-3m-settlement/

Another settlement by the Archdiocese of Chicago when it comes sexual abuse, and another victim of Fr. Daniel McCormack’s takes home millions.

$2.3 million: That is what victim John Doe is owed in this case. Money is just one victory where this suit is concerned. If you ask his lawyers, documents — volumes of them detailing decades of abuse by priests in the Chicago Archdiocese — will be released after the first of the year.

Jeff Anderson represents John Doe, a victim of Fr. Daniel Mccormack’s at St. Agatha Catholic Church in Chicago. Anderson says his client was abused from 2004-2006 when his client was just a teen.

“He is now in his early 20?s,” Anderson said. “His trust was violated and betrayed.”

McCormack pleaded guilty in 2007 to abusing five children while he was a parish priest. He was removed from the priesthood in November of that year,and sentenced to five years in prison. But the victims keep coming. Barbara Blain of the Survivors Network of those abused by priests explains why.

“The average age of a victim who comes forward is age 42. So we’ve got a lot of years that these victims may still be coming,” Blain said.

This case forced the Archdiocese to settle for $2.3 million. It also forced officials to turn over documents relating to 30 or so sexually abusive priests in recent decades. Some are dead — most of them are alive — and the documents should tell what they did, when they did it and who covered it up all these years.

The Archdiocese of Chicago released the following statement Monday night: ”The release of this information requires a careful process to ensure the privacy of victims and other innocent individuals. It is our hope that this and other actions will encourage victims of abuse to come forward to receive help and healing.”

No money from parish collections or savings will be used to to pay Tuesday’s settlement–that is the archdiocese’s policy.

Also, these alleged damning documents that lawyers expected to get last month are now scheduled to be released on January 15.