Chicago cardinal defends compensation plan, urges info on abusers after Illinois abuse report

By NICOLE WINFIELD
Associated Press

ROME (AP) — The archbishop of Chicago is urging the Illinois attorney general to provide information about newly uncovered cases of priests who sexually abused minors that were included in a statewide investigative report. Cardinal Blase Cupich says he would gladly include them on his list of credibly accused clergy if the claims were substantiated. Cupich spoke to The Associated Press in Rome in his first interview since the report was released Tuesday. In the report, investigators found that more than 450 Catholic clergy in Illinois’ six dioceses had sexually abused nearly 2,000 children since 1950, making clear the problem was far worse than the hierarchy had acknowledged in 2018 at the start of the state’s review.