97 Chicago Priests Accused of Abuse

A coalition of victims advocate groups has completed a study that contends more than half of Chicago's Roman Catholic parishes have been served by a priest accused at one time or another of sexually abusing children.

The study looked at assignments made between 1917 and 2009 of priests accused of abuse.

To compile the study, researchers with the advocacy groups used the Official Catholic Directory, a phone book of sorts for priests and other church officials, and a database created by Boston-based bishopaccountability.org that lists 97 Chicago priests accused, admitted or convicted of sexual abuse.

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The Chicago Archdiocese has substantiated 65 cases of abuse since 1950. The additional 32 cases were gleaned from media reports and lawsuits, according to bishopaccountability.org.