ILLINOIS
BishopAccountability.org
Summary of Case: Gerald “Fr. Jerry” Simonelli was ordained for the Joliet diocese in 1990. He assisted at parishes in West Chicago, Bolingbrook and Glen Ellyn, then pastored parishes in Romeoville, Addison and Bloomingdale. He was removed from ministry in May 2010 after a 21-yr-old man accused him of “inappropriate conduct” that occurred more than two years previously. Bishop Sartain stated Simonelli’s removal was due to “homosexual activity” and that he was “unfaithful to his vows on more than one occasion.”Simonelli’s name appears on the diocese’s June 24, 2015 list of “Diocesan Priests With A Credible Allegation(s) of Sexual Abuse of Minors Made Against Them While Serving in the Joliet Diocese.” The list notes there to be a continuing canonical process.
Ordained: 1990
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