Report: Illinois dioceses withheld names

A scathing report by the Illinois attorney general accused the Roman Catholic Church in the state of failing the victims of clergy sexual abuse by neglecting to investigate their allegations against priests and finding flimsy reasons to dismiss their claims.

The names of more than 500 priests who were accused of sexual abuse did not show up on lists of credibly accused clergy that have been released by the Illinois Catholic dioceses, according to the preliminary report from Attorney General Lisa Madigan.

The report concludes that the Catholic dioceses in Illinois are incapable of investigating themselves and “will not resolve the clergy sexual abuse crisis on their own.”

Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, archbishop of Chicago, said in a statement, “I want to express again the profound regret of the whole church for our failures to address the scourge of clerical sexual abuse.

“It is the courage of victim-survivors that has shed purifying light on this dark chapter in church history.”

Madigan, a Democrat who served four terms as Illinois’ attorney general and is the daughter of the state’s powerful and longtime speaker of the House, is days away from leaving office. She chose not to run again.

Kwame Raoul, a fellow Democrat who will replace Madigan in January, said he was committed to continuing the investigation Madigan had begun. He said he would work closely with prosecutors around the state on the issue.

“Today’s news demonstrates the need for ongoing diligence in investigating crimes against children taking place within institutions that do not have a history of unilateral, proactive transparency,” he said in a statement, in which he praised Madigan for initiating the investigation.