ILLINOIS
Daily Herald
Susan Sarkauskas
Members of two groups critical of the Catholic Church’s handling of sexual abuse by priests are calling for parishioners to withhold financial donations to an Aurora church.
And the man who sued that church, St. Rita of Cascia, under the name “John Doe” has revealed his identity. He is John Plaschke, who now lives in Maryland, and said he revealed himself to encourage other possible victims to come forward.
Plaschke’s suit, filed in September in Winnebago County, names the church, the Rockford Diocese and John Holdren, a priest at St. Rita of Cascia in the early 1970s.
In a phone interview, Plaschke said the recent news about sexual assault allegations against comedian Bill Cosby prompted him to investigate his own abuse. The shame and the fear of not being believed expressed by Cosby’s accusers resonated with Plaschke and brought out suppressed memories, he said. Plaschke said he filed the suit after being unsatisfied with the responses of the parish and the diocese to his questions.
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