UNITED STATES
Washington Post
By Abby Ohlheiser November 24
An American priest who was appointed by the Vatican to prosecute sex-abuse cases previously played a role in the church’s failure to remove one of the most infamous abusive priests from the ministry, according to an investigation by the Boston Globe.
Rev. Robert Geisinger, a Jesuit canon lawyer, was named the Vatican’s “promoter of justice” for U.S. abuse cases in September, a position roughly analogous to chief prosecutor. But back in the 1990′s, Geisinger was the second-highest ranking official among Chicago Jesuits just before sex abuse accusations against the now-defrocked Jesuit priest Donald McGuire became public. McGuire is currently serving a 25-year sentence in federal prison.
Court documents surfaced by the Globe indicate that Geisinger was personally aware of multiple complaints against McGuire as early as 1995 — and that he provided advice on disciplinary matters pertaining to the priest as late as August 2002. In 2003, a former student at Loyola Academy filed a lawsuit accusing McGuire of molesting him repeatedly in 1968 and 1969.
Although the Jesuits initially claimed that the 2003 lawsuit was the first they’d heard of accusations against the priest, evidence eventually indicated that the Chicago Jesuits knew about and concealed McGuire’s crimes for decades.
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