In October, Voice of the Faithful issued a press release about a study of priest assignments in the Archdiocese of Chicago related to clergy sexual abuse. This study contained many misstatements and inaccuracies. The archdiocese has a longstanding practice of seeking reconciliation with survivors of sexual abuse by priests and urging them to come forward to tell their stories as a way to promote healing. Inaccurate and misleading information does not promote healing. Here is a comparison of some of the key assertions made in Voice of the Faithful’s press release about the study and the actual facts: The Voice of the Faithful asserted in a press release on Oct. 11, 2010, that “In 2009, one in five institutions in the archdiocese still had a credibly accused priest in residence.” This is a completely false claim. There are no priests in ministry in the Archdiocese of Chicago that have an affirmed claim of sexual abuse of a minor against them. In its press release, the Voice of the Faithful claimed that 60 percent of the parishes and institutions had a credibly accused priest in residence at some time. Based on the analysis of the data in the study, the 65 credibly accused Archdiocese of Chicago priests were in approximately 40 percent of the parishes during a period that spans almost 100 years. The archdiocese did not know that a priest was engaging in child sexual abuse when they were assigned because most allegations came forward decades later. The Voice of the Faithful asserted in its press release that credibly accused priests tended to be assigned to African-American communities. This is clearly false and the VOTF study offers no research to support the statement. According to U.S. Census data, only three of the 13 Zip codes mentioned in the VOTF study have high concentrations of African Americans. The VOTF study does not include the corresponding Zip-code information about the concentration of African Americans in the 1960s and 1970s when the majority of the abuse took place. The archdiocese did not know that a priest was engaging in child sexual abuse when they were assigned because most allegations came forward decades later. The Voice of the Faithful claimed in its press release that credibly accused priests tended to be assigned to lower income communities. This statement is not true and misleading. The VOTF study’s data actually shows that about 61 percent of the assignments were in communities with median household income near or significantly above the average for Cook County. Information about reporting allegations of sexual abuse by archdiocesan clergy, deacons or lay person, no matter when the abuse occurred, can be found on the archdiocesan website, www.archchicago.org, or by calling the Archdiocesan Office for Child Abuse Investigations and Review at (312) 534-5205 or (800) 994- 6200.