Illinois Dioceses

Archdiocese of Chicago

Diocese of Belleville

Diocese of Joliet

Diocese of Peoria

Diocese of Rockford

Diocese of Springfield

Scroll of Abusive Clerics/Brothers

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Juvenal Pfalzer

Date/Location of Reported Abuse:

Unknown

Reported Survivors:

At least 1

Thomas R. Burg

Date/Location of Reported Abuse:

Unknown

Reported Survivors:

At least 1

Robert Peter Bowman

Date/Location of Reported Abuse:

1953: Chicago, IL
1959-1966: Chicago, IL
1964-1965: Matteson, IL
1966-1967: Chicago, IL
1966-1967: Kentucky
1978-2008: Arlington Heights, IL
1978-2008: Chicago, IL
1980-1984: Arlington Heights, IL
1999: Chicago, IL

Reported Survivors:

At least 10

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Francis A. Skube

Date/Location of Reported Abuse:

1964: St. Clair County, IL

Reported Survivors:

Father Francis Skube arrived in the Diocese of Belleville sometime in the late 1950s or early 1960s. He sold himself as the cofounder and superior of a religious order called Franciscan Brothers of Christ the King. Even then, though, his sexual interest in children was no secret to some church officials. A March 1959 letter to an official in the Diocese of Springfield from the pastor of Saint Francis in Provo, Utah, warned “Skube will cause a great deal of spiritual damage while masquerading as religious.” The pastor said he “expelled” Skube from Saint Francis some ...

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John Joseph Casey

Date/Location of Reported Abuse:

1940s: Unknown

Reported Survivors:

At least 1

Raymond A. Prybis

Date/Location of Reported Abuse:

Unknown: Massachusetts

Reported Survivors:

At least 1

Charles Patrick Barnes

Date/Location of Reported Abuse:

Unknown

Reported Survivors:

At least 1

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Norman Goodman

Date/Location of Reported Abuse:

1970-1995: Logan County, IL

Reported Survivors:

The title of “monsignor” is reserved for clergy who have distinguished themselves by exceptional service to the church. The title is bestowed directly by the pope upon recommendation by the priest’s diocesan bishop. So Monsignor Norman Goodman was singled out as exceptional, not just by his own bishop, but also by the seat of the church in Rome. And according to “Jacob”—who was sexually abused by Goodman as a child—the Diocese of Peoria’s actions in the aftermath of his allegations demonstrate just how far it was willing to go to protect the ...

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Carlos Griego

Date/Location of Reported Abuse:

Unknown

Reported Survivors:

At least 3

Thomas J. Johnston

Date/Location of Reported Abuse:

Unknown

Reported Survivors:

At least 1

James (Hugh) Austin

Date/Location of Reported Abuse:

Unknown

Reported Survivors:

At least 1

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Lawrence Dudink

Date/Location of Reported Abuse:

Unknown

Reported Survivors:

At least 1

Few records remain of Father Lawrence Dudink, a member of the Society of the Divine Word religious order. But those in existence show he was convicted of abducting a child. They also show that upon his release from prison for this crime, the Diocese of Joliet allowed Dudink to reside in a retreat house for children with full knowledge of his conviction. Wisconsin authorities charged Dudink with kidnapping a 17 year old girl in November 1960. He allegedly snatched her from a hospital just hours after she had been admitted “for treatment of a nervous condition”; he then took her to ...

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Daniel Michael Drinan

Date/Location of Reported Abuse:

Late 1970s: Christ the King, Baton Rouge, LA

Reported Survivors:

At least 1

Daniel (William Kevin) O'Brien

Date/Location of Reported Abuse:

Unknown

Reported Survivors:

At least 1

Ignatius M. Burrill

Date/Location of Reported Abuse:

1952-1956: Saint Ignatius High School, Cleveland, OH
1977: Loyola Academy, Wilmette, IL

Reported Survivors:

At least 2

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Kenneth Roberts

Date/Location of Reported Abuse:

1980s: LaSalle County, IL
1984: St. Clair County, IL

Reported Survivors:

Not just any priest puts pen to paper to create a book chronicling what led him to the priesthood. But Father Ken Roberts was not just any priest. He wrote about his transition from a jet-setting lifestyle to the priesthood in a 1975 autobiography titled Playboy to Priest. Although Roberts was a priest of the Diocese of Dallas in Texas, his celebrity status and role as retreat master gave him access to children across the nation—including central Illinois. One of those children was “William,” a survivor of Roberts’ abuse whose revictimization by the Diocese of Peoria is...

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Ralph S. Strand

Date/Location of Reported Abuse:

1971-1973: Bellwood, IL
1980-1984: Chicago, IL
1989-1993: Chicago, IL

Reported Survivors:

At least 8

E. Alan Ruppert

Date/Location of Reported Abuse:

1977-1979: Unknown
1990: St. Clair County, IL

Reported Survivors:

Anthony J. Pistone

Date/Location of Reported Abuse:

Unknown

Reported Survivors:

At least 1

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M. Duane Leclercq

Date/Location of Reported Abuse:

Unknown: Peoria County, IL

Reported Survivors:

William Harbert

Date/Location of Reported Abuse:

1966-1973: Rock Island County, IL
1982: Bureau and Tazewell Counties, IL
Unknown: Florida

Reported Survivors:

“Nathan” knew the nightmares would come. “Every time I have to tell my story,” he says, “I don’t sleep well for several nights. I just feel so much shame and guilt.” Yet still he chose to share his experiences with the Attorney General’s investigators—to let his voice be heard. He was abused by two priests as a freshman at Trinity High School in Bloomington in 1964. Today, Father William Harbert and Father Duane Leclercq are both on the Diocese of Peoria’s public list of credibly accused clerics. But that wasn’t always the case ...

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Definitions

Terms are defined as provided in the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops Glossary of Catholic Terms, unless denoted with *.

Altar server: Individuals, usually children, who assist clerics during liturgical functions such as mass. Prior to 1994, only men and boys were permitted to be altar servers.*
Archbishop: The title given automatically to bishops who govern archdioceses. It is also given to certain other high-ranking church officials.
Archdiocese: The chief diocese of an ecclesiastical province. It is governed by an archbishop.
Auxiliary Bishop: A bishop assigned to a Catholic diocese or archdiocese to assist its residential bishop.
Bishop: The highest order of ordained ministry in the Catholic Church. The chief priests in their respective dioceses. Bishops are responsible for the pastoral care of their dioceses. All bishops have a responsibility to act in council with other bishops to guide the church.
Brother: A man who has taken vows in a religious order but is not ordained or studying for the priesthood. Sometimes he is called a lay brother to distinguish him from ordained members of religious orders.
Canon Law: A code of ecclesiastical laws governing the Catholic Church.
Cardinal: Highest-ranking Catholic clergy below the pope. Cardinals are regarded as the pope's closest advisors. Most cardinals are archbishops.
Chancellor: The chief archivist of a diocese's official records. Also a notary and secretary of the diocese’s central administration.
Clergy/Cleric: Clergy is a collective term referring to all those ordained—bishops, priests, and deacons—who administer the rites of the church. A cleric is an individual member of the clergy. Only men are permitted to join the clergy.
Confession or Reconciliation: The Catholic sacrament in which one makes a voluntary self-accusation of sins to a qualified priest in private in order to obtain absolution. The priest provides the confessor, also known as the penitent, with a penance to atone for sins committed. A priest who hears confession is forbidden from disclosing the contents of a confession to others under what is called the seal of confession.*
Curia: The personnel and offices through which (1) the pope administers the affairs of the universal church (the Roman Curia), or (2) a bishop administers the affairs of a diocese (the diocesan curia). The principal officials of a diocesan curia are the vicar general, the chancellor, officials of the diocesan tribunal or court, examiners, consultors, auditors, and notaries.
Dallas Charter: The Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People sets forth policies for each United States archdiocese and diocese to adopt as part of an effort to address allegations of child sex abuse by Catholic clergy. The Charter was formulated at the 2002 meeting of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in Dallas, Texas. The Charter was revised in 2005, 2011, and 2018.
Deacon: One of three groups that comprise the clergy, meaning those ordained for ministry. Only men are permitted to become deacons. Deacons preparing for the priesthood are transitional deacons. Those not planning to be ordained priests are called permanent deacons. Married men may be ordained permanent deacons, but only unmarried men committed to lifelong celibacy can be ordained deacons if they are planning to become priests.
Diocesan Priest: Priests under the direction of their local bishop. Most serve in the parishes of the diocese, but they may also be assigned to other diocesan ministries or released for service outside the diocese.
Diocese: A territorial division of the Church headed by a bishop.
Extern Priest: A priest with faculties to minister in a diocese or archdiocese who was not ordained in that diocese or archdiocese. For example, a diocesan priest from the Diocese of Springfield who has been granted faculties to minister by the Archdiocese of Chicago is an extern priest.*
Faculty/Faculties: Church authorization, given by the law itself or by a Church superior, to perform certain official acts.
Flock: Members of the Catholic Church. Derived from Catholic teachings that clergy are like shepherds guiding a flock.*
Laicize or Defrock: The process by which a priest is returned to the lay state. It is sometimes used as a penalty for a serious crime, but also can come at the request of the priest. A laicized priest is barred from all priestly ministry with one exception: He may give absolution to someone in immediate danger of death. The pope must approve all requests for laicization. When a priest is laicized without his consent for a crime, such as committing child sexual abuse, it is sometimes called defrocking.
Ministry: Any activity conducive to the salvation of souls. It can include ordained ministry such as liturgical leadership and administration of the sacraments, or lay ministry such as instructing children in the faith, serving the poor, visiting the sick, or being an altar server, reader, or music leader at mass.
Monsignor: An honorary ecclesiastical title granted by the pope to some diocesan priests.
Nun: A member of a religious order of women who has taken solemn or simple vows.
Ordained/Ordination: Ordination is the sacramental ceremony in which a man becomes a deacon, priest, or bishop. A cleric who has undergone ordination is known as ordained.*
Parish: A specific community within a diocese with its own church building and under the authority of a pastor who is responsible for providing ministerial service. Most parishes are formed on a geographic basis, but they may be formed along national or ethnic lines.
Pastor: A priest in charge of a Catholic parish or congregation.
Penance: Acts performed to atone for committed sins, as directed by a priest in the Catholic sacrament of reconcilliation.*
Rectory: Residential housing for clergy provided by the Church. A rectory can also contain administrative offices for a parish.*
Religious Cleric: Professed member of a religious order or institute. Religious clergy live according to the rule of their respective orders.
Religious Order or Order: An institution of men or women, at least some of whose members take solemn vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, and whose male members are sometimes ordained.*
Seminary: An educational institution for men preparing for the priesthood.
Vicar: A cleric who acts in the name of another cleric.*
Vicar general: A priest, auxiliary bishop, or coadjutor bishop who assists the diocesan bishop in the governance of the diocese.
Victims Assistance Coordinator: A diocesan employee who has been designated to coordinate assistance to survivors of sex abuse by clerics.*