AG report outlines allegations against priests in child sexual abuse claims

A total of 24 Rockford Diocese priests, other church officials, named in state report

St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Johnsburg, on Tuesday May 23, 2023. The Rev. John Holdren, who served at this church, was named in the 2023 report on Catholic Clergy Child Child Sex Abuse in Illinois by the Office of the Illinois Attorney General.

A final investigative report released Tuesday by Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul outlined years of allegations against Catholic priests and other laity across the state, including 24 accused in the Rockford Diocese.

In a two-and-a-half-page response to the report, Bishop David Malloy apologized for the pain endured by the Rockford Diocese’s survivors of child sexual abuse.

“No child should ever be harmed, and no adult should have to endure the memories of that harm,” Malloy wrote. “Our priority today remains the safety of all children and vulnerable individuals and the repair of the past.”

Our priority today remains the safety of all children and vulnerable individuals and the repair of the past.”

—  David Malloy, Rockford Diocese bishop

The state said that in the mid-1980s, the Rockford Diocese, which covers McHenry, Lee, DeKalb, Kane, Whiteside, Carroll and other Northern Illinois counties, had one of the first policies to investigate priests when Bishop Arthur Joseph O’Neill and the diocese’s attorney designed an intervention team.

Bishop David Malloy finishes the commencement ceremony with a speech Wednesday, May 19, 2021.

That approach “was intended to respond to all accusations of wrongdoing against diocesan personnel, including but not limited to allegations of child sex abuse by clerics,” according to the report. The panel included priests, laypeople, the bishop himself and mental health practitioners.

The diocese also established a 24-hour hotline for survivors to make allegations directly to a diocesan representative. A “misconduct officer” was responsible for reviewing those allegations.

According to the report, however, that the team approach’s outcomes may have fallen short in addressing past abuse “particularly in the typical circumstance seen today where the accused cleric is no longer in active ministry.”

FILE - Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul delivers his remarks after being sworn to his second term as attorney general during ceremonies on Jan. 9, 2023, in Springfield, Ill. Raoul on Tuesday, May 23, 2023, will discuss his office’s more than four-year investigation into the alleged sexual abuse of children by Catholic clergy in the state going back decades — a probe launched by his predecessor after she found the church's own investigation to be seriously lacking. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)

The “goal of limiting liability diverges from the goal of promoting justice and healing for survivors of child sex abuse,” according to the report.

It notes incidents where an accused priest from Phoenix, Arizona, Father Joseph Lessard, “was spared a prison sentence, thanks in part to the intercession of the Phoenix bishop.”

Although familiar with Lessard’s past, the report notes O’Neill “agreed to provide refuge to him in the Diocese of Rockford. He justified his decision with the reasoning: ‘We have to take some in since we have some too.’ ”

During its probe, state investigators were given access to diocese general counsel files, documenting its response to allegations ”under the policies and procedures discussed above. A review of these files suggests the diocese’s institutional interests often eclipse those of survivors,” according to the report.

The Attorney General’s report for the Rockford Diocese concludes: “The past several years have seen substantial improvements at the Diocese of Rockford for preventing, detecting, and investigating occurrences of misconduct by clerics with children. Whether the diocese continues to make progress will depend on the commitment of its leaders and the vigilance of parishioners, parents and others in a position to hold the church accountable.”

A total of 24 priests and other church figures who served in those counties were named in the report, which in total names 451 individuals accused as abusers. The report breaks down, by each of the six dioceses, when each accused priest or other official was ordained, where they served, the number of allegations against them, and any actions against them by either the church or law enforcement and the courts.

All 24 names and their affiliations also are now available on the website.

The past several years have seen substantial improvements at the Diocese of Rockford for preventing, detecting, and investigating occurrences of misconduct by clerics with children. Whether the diocese continues to make progress will depend on the commitment of its leaders and the vigilance of parishioners, parents, and others in a position to hold the church accountable.”

—  2023 report on Catholic Clergy Child Child Sex Abuse in Illinois by the Illinois Attorney General

In the diocese response, Malloy took issue with what he calls “inaccuracies” in the report, primarily that “known abusers” are “actively ministering in our diocese.”

“To the best of our knowledge, that is simply not true. There is no cleric or lay person in ministry or employment in the Diocese of Rockford with a credible accusation against him or her,” Malloy wrote.

While the AG report maintains that about 160 priests who should be on public lists are not, the report also points out that none are affiliated with the Rockford Diocese, Malloy wrote.

“Our vigilance, training and promise to protect all those in our care is not contingent upon nor does it end with this investigation,” Malloy wrote. “The Diocese of Rockford’s commitment and promise to protect began well before this Attorney General’s inquiry and will continue forever after.”

The Diocese of Rockford includes 11 northern Illinois counties: Boone, Carroll, DeKalb, Jo Daviess, Kane, Lee, McHenry, Ogle, Stephenson, Whiteside and Winnebago.

According to the report, the diocese served an estimated 350,000 Catholics as of November 2018, among 104 parishes and 129 active priests.