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SNAP Hands Out Leaflets On Investigation Into Pastor Outside St. Alphonsus
By Nancy Harty
CBS Chicago
October 13, 2014
http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2014/10/12/snap-hands-out-leaflets-on-investigation-into-pastor-outside-st-alphonsus/
[with video]
(CBS) — Priest sex abuse survivors leafleted outside a Catholic church on Chicago’s North Side Sunday to draw attention to an ongoing investigation, reports WBBM’s Nancy Harty.
Many parishioners at St. Alphonsus Catholic Church in Lakeview didn’t know about a Cook County Sheriff Department’s investigation into the parish’s pastor, according to Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests spokeswoman Kate Bochte.
“We’re here to clear the record that the investigation [into] Michael O’Connell, as far as the criminal investigation, is still open and ongoing,” Bochte said.
A handful of SNAP members passed out flyers outlining the sheriff’s investigation that began in December and ended in April after police were unable to support any charges. A review by the Archdiocese also failed to substantiate claims against O’Connell, so he was reinstated.
However, another man came forward in April to say he witnesses abuse of a child by O’Connell. The sheriff’s office has reopened its investigation.
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