Like many survivors of clergy abuse, “Carl” kept it secret for years; he only felt comfortable reporting it upon learning of the Attorney General’s investigation. Carl was close with Father Arno Dennerlein while serving as an altar server at Saint Patrick in Joliet. In 1973, Carl was 14 years old and would regularly spend time with Dennerlein in the Saint Patrick rectory. During one visit to Dennerlein’s private sitting room, the priest heard the boy’s confession—a sacrament, or sacred ritual, in which a person discloses “sins.” Carl confessed to...