LASALLE (IL)
News Tribune
January 15, 2019
By Brett Herrmann
It was last month when Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan unveiled that the Catholic Church in Illinois had received allegations against at least 500 unnamed priests and clergy members. That’s 500 more than the already identified 185 clergy members that have been “credibly” accused of sexual abuse against children as determined by the six dioceses in the state of Illinois.
Peoria Diocese fast stats
144,669 — Total Catholics
162 — Catholic parishes
298 — Total priests
11,872 — Total students in Catholic schools
21,778 — Total students under Catholic instruction
26 — Illinois counties in the Diocese
1,492,335 — Total population in Diocese
Source: Catholic Diocese of Peoria
“Because I know that the Church has too often ignored survivors of clergy sexual assault, I want to share the initial findings from our work,” Madigan said. “While the findings are preliminary, they demonstrate the need for and importance of continuing this investigation.”
The Illinois Attorney General’s office began its investigation into the Catholic Church in August following the news of the child sexual abuse scandal in Pennsylvania. The four month investigation resulted in each Illinois diocese — Chicago, Joliet, Rockford, Peoria, Springfield and Belleville — publishing a list of the priests that have been “credibly” accused of sexual abuse in their respective diocese. Two of the diocese already had lists available before the investigation.
But there are still hundreds of priests yet to be identified through accusations spanning decades.
“The investigation has revealed that allegations frequently have not been adequately investigated by the dioceses or not investigated at all. In many cases, the Church failed to notify law enforcement authorities or Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) of allegations of child sexual abuse,” the Attorney General’s office stated in a press release. “Among the common reasons the dioceses have provided for not investigating an allegation is that the priest or clergy member was deceased or had already resigned at the time the allegation of child sexual abuse was first reported to the diocese.”
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