MILWAUKEE (WI)
Journal Sentinel
January 21, 2019
By Annysa Johnson
Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm is calling for a statewide investigation of the Catholic Church’s response to allegations of sexual abuse of minors, similar to the Pennsylvania probe that sparked a wave of inquiries across the country.
Chisholm said he would like to work with district attorneys around the state and newly elected Attorney General Josh Kaul to review all abuse allegations over the last 50 years. He said he would hope the state’s bishops would voluntarily open their files.
If not, he said, he would be open to other mechanisms, such as a John Doe or grand jury proceeding.
Chisholm said he also would consider asking the U.S. Bankruptcy Court to share with authorities the names of more than 100 alleged offenders under seal as part of the now-closed Archdiocese of Milwaukee bankruptcy.
“I strongly believe that we should have access to all of the dioceses’ complaints for the last 50 years, similar to a process we started in Milwaukee County in the early 2000s,” Chisholm said in an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
He acknowledged “criminal prosecutions in most cases would be highly unlikely” because victims or perpetrators may have died or the statute of limitations has run out.
“I still think there’s a value in looking at this systematically and assessing what happened, just to make sure it is transparent and there’s an honest accounting of it,” he said.
Repeated efforts by the Journal Sentinel to reach Kaul to gauge his interest in a statewide probe have not been successful, but a comment from his staff over the weekend suggests he may be considering such a move.
Kaul’s office told the Wisconsin State Journal on Saturday that it would not comment on a request by the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests for him to open a statewide investigation, “given this relates to a potential investigation.”
Abuse survivor and founding SNAP member Peter Isely called the developments “promising” and heartening for victim-survivors who have been calling on state and federal authorities to launch such a probe for years.
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