A new investigation by the Illinois attorney general’s office has identified 500 priests and clergy members with credible claims of sexual abuse against them, all of whom have not been previously identified by church officials and some of whom are still active within the church.
On Wednesday, outgoing Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan released the preliminary findings of an investigation that her office launched in August of this year.
Before her office’s investigation, the six diocese in Illinois had publicly named 140 priests with claims against them. After Madigan’s investigation began, the Catholic Church named an additional 45 priests themselves.
But Madigan’s investigation has found 500 separate priests and clergy with credible abuse claims against them, according to Maura Possley, the communications director for the attorney general.
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