On Sept. 24, Cardinal Cupich sent the following letter to St. Alphonsus Liguori, St. Basil Visitation, Immaculate Conception and St. Michael, St. Mary of the Lake and Our Lady of Lourdes, Our Lady of the Rosary, St. Peter Damian, Sacred Heart and St. Eulalia and St. Thomas Becket Parishes informing them of the reinstatement of Father Curtis Lambert:
In July, I wrote to share that the archdiocese had received an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor against Father Curtis Lambert, who served as associate pastor of St. Michael Parish from April 1991 to September 1995. The abuse is alleged to have occurred at Sacred Heart Parish in Melrose Park approximately 40 years ago. At that time, I directed Father Lambert to remain out of ministry while civil authorities and our Independent Review Board (IRB) completed the process of investigating the allegation. While he strenuously denied the allegation, he fully complied with my request and cooperated with the investigation.
After receiving the results of the thorough investigation, the IRB determined that there is not a reasonable cause to believe Father Lambert sexually abused the person making the accusation. In addition, the IRB recommended that Father Lambert be reinstated to ministry. I have accepted their recommendation effective immediately.
It is important to stress that the welfare of the children entrusted to our care is of paramount importance. For this reason, we take all allegations of sexual misconduct seriously. At the same time, we must restore the good name of anyone so accused when the allegations are found to be unsubstantiated. To that end, I publicly affirm that Father Lambert is a priest in good standing and express sincere appreciation for his many years of service to the people of God in the Archdiocese of Chicago. He deserves our respect and gratitude and I hope you will join me in thanking him for his long-standing dedication.
We encourage anyone who feels they have been sexually abused by a priest, deacon, religious or lay employee to come forward. They will be received with dignity and compassion. Complete information about reporting sexual abuse can be found on the archdiocesan website at archchicago.org. Please know that I appreciated your patience with this process. I ask that you pray for everyone involved as I continue to pray for you. Sincerely yours in Christ,
Cardinal Blase Cupich
Archbishop of Chicago