Chicago Archdiocese Publishes 15,000 Pages on Child Abuse Scandals

"We cannot change the past but we hope we can rebuild trust through honest and open dialogue," wrote Francis Cardinal George on the website this week. "Child abuse is a crime and a sin."

The Archdiocese of Chicago released approximately 15,000 pages of documents on Thursday that detail how the organizaton internally dealt with decades of child abuse by dozens of priests who are now either dead or no longer affiliated with the ministry. …

"As we said in January, we are committed to transparency with the people we serve," said Francis Cardinal George, OMI on a statement posted to the Archdiocese's website. "We cannot change the past but we hope we can rebuild trust through honest and open dialogue. Child abuse is a crime and a sin. The Archdiocese of Chicago is concerned first and foremost with bringing healing to abuse victims."