Files Show Chicago Archdiocese Hid Decades Of Child Sex Abuse

CBS Chicage ^ | January 21, 2014

[Gamecock]

After a 13-year-old boy reported in 1979 that a priest raped and threatened him at gunpoint to keep quiet, the Archdiocese of Chicago assured the boy’s parents that, although the cleric avoided prosecution, he would receive treatment and have no further contact with minors.

But the Rev. William Cloutier, who already had been accused of molesting other children, was returned to ministry a year later and went on to abuse again before he resigned in 1993, two years after the boy’s parents filed a lawsuit.

Officials took no action against Cloutier over his earliest transgressions because he “sounded repentant,” according to internal archdiocese documents released Tuesday.....

[terycarl]

However, the reports seem to suggest that the Roman Catholic Church did not deal with these issues adequately and the silence was a shield to conceal that.

nope....to suggest for a moment that the Roman Catholic Church, headquartered in Rome Italy in any way conspired with the few homosexuals who abused little boys (usually teenagers) under therir control is nonsense...there were, of course individuals who were irresponsible and criminal...but the church itself....no. Were the violations handled properly in every case, no. but in far too many cases current teachings having to do with treatment VS punishment were followed....these people can be helped through psychiatric treatment, it didn't quite work out the way that they thought.bad people, bad behavior, not properly handled....simple as that.

[CommerceComet]

Sorry but I don't buy that for one second. It is convenient to use this as an excuse for the actions taken but it also appears clear that the motive had more to do with a desire to keep the crimes from becoming public knowledge.

I didn't actually say that the conspiracy extended all the way to Rome. It appears to be a conspiracy by elements within an organization based in Rome to protect the reputation of the organization (and their colleagues and themselves, to some degree). If such a conspiracy unravels, it might stretch to the highest levels but I'm not saying that it has yet.