The Chicago and D.C. media are abuzz with revelations that the House chaplain, Father Daniel Coughlin, had a role in supervising priests accused of abuse in his native Archdiocese of Chicago. It’s worth noting that this all happened before Coughlin was tapped to be House chaplain in 2000, the first Catholic to hold the post.
The original Roll Call article is here, and the Chicago Tribune’s story is here. Money quote from Roll Call:
“When the archdiocese removed an accused priest from ministry, Coughlin frequently became his caretaker, providing services ranging from room and board to spiritual support and advocacy.
Coughlin spent five years running a Catholic facility outside of Chicago where the archdiocese sent priests who were suspected of committing sexual offenses – though Coughlin was not responsible for overseeing the men. He then spent the next five years serving as the vicar for priests, the archdiocesan point man for counseling troubled priests, including those accused of sexual misconduct.”
And the reaction from SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests:
“Sadly, this is a familiar pattern in the Chicago archdiocese: a priest who successfully keeps quiet about clergy sex crimes wins a promotion. It’s very depressing and troubling that a priest who helped conceal felonies is rewarded with a prominent national post like this.”