Download Report

Father Carlos Peralta, an order priest of the Salesians of Don Bosco, arrived in the Archdiocese of Chicago from Peru in 1998 to minister to the expanding Spanish-speaking community of Saint John Bosco in Chicago’s Belmont Cragin neighborhood. What his new parishioners didn’t know was that for years Peralta had been shuffled across South America by his superiors in the Salesian order, leaving behind him a trail of allegations of sexual abuse of children. Supplied by the Salesians with a letter falsely attesting to his good character, Peralta was welcomed to Chicago by the ...

READ COMPLETE NARRATIVE >

Richard J. Poster

Date/Location of Reported Abuse:

2002: Unknown

Reported Survivors:

At least 1

Gilbert Hensley

Date/Location of Reported Abuse:

Unknown

Reported Survivors:

At least 1

Robert E. Spangenberg

Date/Location of Reported Abuse:

1980s: Pittsburgh, PA

Reported Survivors:

At least 2

SEE COMPLETE LISTING >

Daniel J. McCormack

Date/Location of Reported Abuse:

1992: Mexico
1995-2006: Chicago, IL

Reported Survivors:

130

Father Daniel McCormack is one of the most infamous child abusers anywhere in Illinois. For years, he preyed on young, vulnerable boys in Black parishes on the West Side of Chicago. What separates McCormack from other prolific child-abusing clerics is that his abuse both occurred and was uncovered relatively recently. And despite reforms aimed at protecting children and removing abusive clerics, the Archdiocese of Chicago accomplished neither goal in the wake of McCormack’s abuse. In fact, even after McCormack was arrested for sexually abusing young boys, Cardinal Francis George himself ...

READ COMPLETE NARRATIVE >

Dennis Huff

Date/Location of Reported Abuse:

Unknown

Reported Survivors:

At least 1

Eugene G. Linnemann

Date/Location of Reported Abuse:

1979-1983: St. Clair County, IL

Reported Survivors:

At least 1

Raymond C. Kalter

Date/Location of Reported Abuse:

1950s: Unknown

Reported Survivors:

SEE COMPLETE LISTING >

Jeffrey Salwach

Date/Location of Reported Abuse:

1974-1978: Unknown

Reported Survivors:

At least 1

In 2003, “Brandon” reported to the Franciscan Friars religious order that Father Jeffrey Salwach and another priest sexually abused him as a child. The abuse occurred at Saint Jude in New Lenox in the mid-1970s; it began when Brandon was 9 years old and lasted until he was 13. At the time, Salwach was a Franciscan brother but was not yet ordained a priest. Rather than seeking justice, however, the Franciscans sought to garner evidence of Salwach’s innocence, obfuscate any suggestion of his guilt, and bury the truth. Brandon sued Salwach, the Franciscans, and the Diocese of ...

READ COMPLETE NARRATIVE >

Anthony J. Ross

Date/Location of Reported Abuse:

1981-1982: Unknown

Reported Survivors:

Charles Conefrey

Date/Location of Reported Abuse:

Unknown

Reported Survivors:

At least 1

Paul S. Reycraft

Date/Location of Reported Abuse:

Unknown: Chicago, IL

Reported Survivors:

At least 2

SEE COMPLETE LISTING >

George W. Klein

The Archdiocese of Chicago posts a public list comprising dozens of clerics it has determined are credibly accused of sexually abusing a child. But Father George Klein’s name does not appear among them. The exact reasons why remain a mystery. “Monica,” a survivor of Klein’s abuse, decided to share her experience with the Attorney General’s investigators because she didn’t feel satisfied with the archdiocese’s response. After reviewing Monica’s complaint in late 2011, the archdiocese’s review board determined there was “insufficient ...

READ COMPLETE NARRATIVE >

Emil Twardochleb

Date/Location of Reported Abuse:

1971-1975: Unknown

Reported Survivors:

At least 1

Daniel Peter Buck

Date/Location of Reported Abuse:

1972-1977: Clarendon Hills, IL
1972-1977: Ingleside, IL
1980-1981: Chicago, IL

Reported Survivors:

At least 5

Michael J. Hogan

Date/Location of Reported Abuse:

1985: Brookfield, IL
1985: Arkansas
1985: Texas

Reported Survivors:

SEE COMPLETE LISTING >

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 ...

READ COMPLETE NARRATIVE >

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.*