Four men who say that they were sexually abused by five priests in parishes across Illinois have filed a lawsuit against every diocese in the state, saying that there was a widespread scheme to cover-up sexual abuse.
The survivors say the church is holding back, keeping the names of accused clergy secret, and keeping secret records on the cases themselves.
In response to that alleged cover-up, the four men filed a lawsuit in Chicago Thursday. The suit, known as a “public nuisance” lawsuit, is one of few potential avenues for the men, whose claims fall outside of the statute of limitations.
The suit is looking to force the disclosure of the secret documents, and more importantly, to change church policy on the handling of abuse claims.
“You are the leaders of the leaders of the flock. Please do the right thing,” abuse survivor Cyndi Yesko said.
Some dioceses, including Chicago, have released information about credibly accused priests, but the suit alleges there is information the diocese held back, and that, they say, creates a dangerous public nuisance.
“(It’s) a conspiracy of silence, a conspiracy of secrecy, a conspiracy of self-protection and scandal avoidance,” attorney Jeff Anderson said.
The lawsuit alleges that abuse took place beginning in the early 1970’s and lasted through the late 1990’s.
The Archdiocese of Chicago says it has yet to see the lawsuit, but has been taking action.
“We have not had time to review the lawsuit,” the archdiocese said in a statement. “In 2006, the Archdiocese of Chicago published on its website the names of diocesan priests against whom there were substantiated allegations of child sexual abuse. The list can be found at protect.archchicago.org.”
The archdiocese also gave a detailed list of its efforts to combat sexual abuse in the church, saying that it has released more than 20,000 pages of documents pertaining to the abuse.
Last month, Cardinal Blasé Cupich called for an independent review of the archdiocese’s policies and procedures, and for the creation of a Truth and Reconciliation process to help heal survivors of abuse, their families, and the community as a whole.
Despite what Chicago has done, attorneys say other dioceses throughout the state have not made any disclosures whatsoever.
“People have been outraged by the perpetrators of these crimes, and equally disturbing, if not more disturbing, is the fact that people in leadership knew about it and allowed it,” Marc Pearlman, an attorney for the victims, said.
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has also launched an investigation into allegations of sexual abuse by priests.
Attorneys for the survivors say they support that investigation and hope it leads to real changes in the church, and in its handling of abuse cases.
