The archdiocesan review board advised the archdiocese to remove Father McCormack from his parish, and the archdiocese refused to follow the advice. |
The Department has learned that the archdiocese maintains a list of files and letters regarding past allegations of child abuse by clergy. ... The archdiocese has not reported those allegations of child abuse to DCFS. |
The passage of time does not lessen the importance of reporting. |
We don't know who they are, why they're there, what kind of therapy they're receiving, or who they have access to. From a child welfare perspective, what the church is asking everyone to do is trust them. There's enough information out there and enough research finding about pedophiles that certainly suggests there's a high rate of recidivism. |
We think that looking at all those allegations is in the interest of kids and in the interest of the community at large. The more information we have, the better we understand what has happened in the past, the greater likelihood we can prevent things from happening in the future. |