Background

Over the weekend, two Chicago-area priests, Fr. Matthew Foley and Fr. Henry Kricek, temporarily stepped away from ministry, amid separate allegations of sexual abuse of a minor. Fr. Foley is accused of sexually abusing a minor approximately 30 years ago while working at St. Agatha Parish. Fr. Kricek is accused of sexual abuse of a minor approximately 40 years ago while working at St. John Bosco Parish.

The name Matt Foley may ring a bell from the iconic SNL skit ” In a Van Down by the River, ” performed by Chris Farley. Farley and Foley were friends and attended Marquette University together, where they also played on the same rugby team.

Statement

Sadly, Chicago Catholic officials still do the bare minimum in cases like these. It’s a new year and a time for a new approach. When an abuse report is made against a priest, church officials often send just one short, vague statement to a few parishioners and sometimes a few news outlets. That’s not enough.

To get to the bottom of the allegations against two recently accused priests, Cardinal Cupich must go further. He should physically go to each church where they worked, look parishioners in the eye, and tell them, ‘Don’t stay silent. Please come forward if you have any information or suspicions that might help prove or disprove these abuse reports.’ He should also write letters to all the former church members, staff, and volunteers who were at those parishes years ago when the alleged offenders were there.

Cupich must do everything in his power to determine whether these allegations are true. That includes using pulpit announcements, parish bulletins, church websites, and archdiocesan mailing lists. A passive effort to find other victims, witnesses, and whistleblowers likely won’t succeed. And when others don’t speak up, Cupich can claim the allegation is ‘unsubstantiated’ and put these two priests back on the job,’ where they may hurt other kids.

Attorneys Marc Pearlman and Melissa Anderson also had thoughts on this news:

“If these allegations are true, we know from decades of experience that it is likely Foley and Kricek have more victims out there,” said attorney Marc Pearlman. “If that is the case, we hope those survivors know that they are not alone.”

“We are relieved to hear that both Fr. Foley and Fr. Kricek have stepped away from ministry while an investigation takes place,” said attorney Melissa Anderson. “For the safety of kids – it’s crucial that anyone with information about these allegations contacts the police right away.”