“The evidence wasn’t there, but the allegations of satanic ritual abuse never really went away,” said Ken Lanning, a former F.B.I. agent who worked on hundreds of abuse cases with the bureau’s behavioral science unit. “When people get emotionally involved in an issue, common sense and reason go out the window. People believe what they want and need to believe.”

"We do not recognize repressed memory," Father's attorney said. "We should not recognize repressed memory. Of course child sex abuse cannot be condoned. There is no question that it is an evil. But the courts have also been clear that false accusations can destroy families."

In 2019, Rhode Island passed “Annie’s Law,” which extended the statute of limitations in child sex abuse cases up to 35 years after the survivor’s 18th birthday. The law also allowed for adults to sue up to seven years after they re-discovered childhood sexual abuse, such as through therapy sessions.

An effort to eliminate clergy privilege and force religious leaders to report child abuse to legal authorities was unable to get enough votes to make it out of committee Tuesday after days of backroom drama. Currently, only Guam, New Hampshire and West Virginia consider clergy mandated reporters and clergy-penitent privilege is waived in cases of suspected child abuse or neglect in those states.

“I know that I cannot emotionally or spiritually continue to remain isolated in an apartment waiting for this board to do its job,” the pastor, wrote. “While I hope and pray that the Review Board will work a little harder and more promptly to conclude their investigation, I will no longer wait in silence."

Now that Gov. Cuomo has been accused of being a serial predator, he is insisting that his due process rights be respected. Yet when it came to allegations against priests—for offenses alleged to have happened decades earlier—Cuomo showed no respect for their due process rights. Most of the allegations took place a very long time ago, making it difficult to determine innocence or guilt. We know that memories fade and witnesses die, which is why we have statutes of limitations in the first place.

As the McCarrick and the Pennsylvania Grand Jury scandals arose in 2018, he said a “sort of pall fell over the Church.” He then encountered local difficulties - having to remove some priests, undergo investigations into the diocese, close school parishes, and grieve the death of a young priest. “Because I'm the bishop, I felt like I had to fix all these problems – I was praying, of course – but it was all wearing me down. I took all that pressure and stress upon myself,” he said.

The diocese is required under bankruptcy rules to have expenses such as the hiring of lawyers approved by a court. The diocese had argued that it was obligated under its bylaws to pay the bishops’ legal fees, but the judge disagreed. The bankruptcy judge did allow the diocese itself to hire Jones Day, a large law firm, as its own special counsel against the lawsuit.

There are many days that I am still devastated by the actions of trusted role models. I see why some Catholics have abandoned the pews with disgust. I encourage them to find the way home, even to sit and pray for those who cannot come back just yet. Along the way I was taught to be generous of spirit, forgive, to not judge. There are many days that this becomes difficult. And yet I remain committed to my own healing journey, to those who still suffer and to the hope of better tomorrows for survivors and the church.

"In its continued effort to get the Archdiocese of Chicago to swiftly conclude its investigation into the allegations against Fr. Pfleger, that it has made the decision to withhold the monthly assessments of the church and school to the Archdiocese starting in March,” read a statement from St. Sabina officials.

The suit does not seek monetary compensation, but a declaratory judgment that Lacroix did not engage in any misconduct. “My client has been viciously slandered, and his entire life and career have been put on hold, all without any measure of due process,” Lacroix’s attorney, Philip Beauregard said.