Priests, nuns, and a few laypeople find their names included in the latest sexual abuse report.

A 182-page report authored by Jeff Anderson and Associates, a law firm working out of Minnesota, has included names, photographs, and background information of almost 400 Illinois Catholic clergy members accused of serious sexual misconduct. The assignment histories of those named are also included. The report pointed out that church officials have informed their congregants of only a few names included in the list. Six nuns and a few lay people who were credibly accused of sexually molesting children found their names on the list as well.

A few of the accusations in The Anderson Report: Child Sexual Abuse in the Archdiocese and Dioceses in Illinois go back to more than 30 years. The 395-name list is almost double the numbers released by the Roman Catholic Church. The report published data which reveal the horrifying scale of clergy people engaged in sexually assaulting minors. The content expressed doubt and fear of the fact that a few sex offenders were first intentionally transferred and then retained in their trusted positions. They enjoyed unfettered access to children even after other church members came to know about their proclivities. Jeff Anderson said only one of such priests now actually tends to any flock, while the rest are either dead or expelled from the ministry. The report concluded by saying sexual abuse continues to be a danger in the present and not confined to the past. Such matters will remain a danger until the complete identities and histories of the sexually abusive church members like priests, seminarians, and religious employees, are released in a public forum.

And on and on it goes… https://t.co/pJeMKoAaDV — Michael Cook (@truthmiracle) March 22, 2019

According to Anderson, the publishing of this report will hopefully enthuse leaders of the Catholic church to make a public identification of many such clergies who have faced similar allegations. The priests named in the report worked in the dioceses of Springfield, Belleville, Rockford, Joliet, and Peoria. A significant number were also employed in the Archdiocese of Chicago. Predictably, the dioceses have refuted the findings as mentioned and elaborated in the report. The Archdiocese of Chicago said it does not engage in policing itself but reports all allegations to civil authorities, regardless of whether the priest is from the diocese or any religious order. The archdiocese sends the name to the authorities even if the person named has died.

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