BOLINGBROOK – Two former Bolingbrook priests were named in a sexual abuse lawsuit brought by five men against the Diocese of Joliet Tuesday, according to a Chicago Tribune report.
The five men filed the case in a Will County circuit court Tuesday, suing the Diocese of Joliet and alleging that they were sexually abused by priests in the 1970s and 80's, according to the report.
Michael Gibbney, formerly of St. Francis of Assisi Church in Bolingbrook, and James Nowak, formerly of St. Dominic Church in Bolingbrook, were two of the four priests named in the lawsuit, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Both were removed from ministry between 1992 and 2012, the report said.
The plaintiffs claim that the Joliet Diocese "allowed known or suspected pedophile priests to have access to young boys who were allegedly abused on church retreats and even in the back row of a school classroom."