DAMNING

Catholic Clergy Sexually Abused Nearly 2,000 Minors in Illinois: Report

The church initially disclosed only 103 victims of sexual abuse in 2018.

A damning, 696-page report released by Illinois’ attorney general office found that 451 Catholic clergy sexually abused at least 1,997 children across a nearly 70-year span from 1950 to 2019. When the state began its review in 2018, the church admitted to only 103 victims—an underestimate four times smaller than the new investigation’s findings. The report also calls out Illinois church leaders for neglecting the abuse and failing to address accusations or warn church goers of suspected sex abusers. The hundreds of new names on the list come from victims who shared their accounts with investigators and were vetted for legitimacy. “Survivors spoke of years, and often decades, struggling with challenges including insomnia, anxiety, trust issues, nightmares, suicidal ideation, guilt, addiction, alcoholism, depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, issues creating and maintaining relationships, and sexual side effects,” the report stated. While Attorney General Kwame Raoul said at a news conference that the report intends to provide “public accountability” and a “measure of healing to survivors,” he acknowledged many of the victims “will never see justice in a legal sense.”