Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, the archbishop of Chicago, has defended a proposed compensation plan for victims of clergy sex abuse and urged the Illinois attorney general’s office to provide more information on predator priests revealed in a scathing report.
In a statement released Wednesday, Cupich said all those named in the state report from Attorney General Lisa Madigan, who has called for the Catholic Church to set up a fund to provide financial compensation to victims, should have their names and alleged abuses publicized.
“The Archdiocese of Chicago supports the recommendation that the Illinois Attorney General’s Office provide further details to the public of the priests and religious who committed acts of abuse that were revealed in her report,” Cupich said.
The cardinal also noted the archdiocese was working to put in place a compensation system for victims modeled after one established by the Archdiocese of New York. He said that “the Church, as an institution, has a moral and ethical responsibility before God and society to address the harms of sexual abuse” and stressed that the archdiocese encourages victims of abuse to speak out so that the church can work to restore justice.
“We will not allow the actions of a few to stand in the way of the Church’s healing mission, which brings comfort to those most in need,” Cupich said.