On Jan. 24, the Archdiocese of Chicago distributed the following letter to All Souls, Mother of the Americas, Our Lady of the Heights, Our Lady of Unity, St. Anthony of Padua, St. Benedict the African, St. John Neumann and St. Veronica Parishes and Franciscan Health Alliance informing them of the reinstatement of Father Ronald Kondziolka:
“Last August, I shared news that the archdiocese had received a more than 40-year-old allegation of sexual abuse of a minor against Father Ronald Kondziolka, who was a resident at St. James Parish in Sauk Village from March 1990 to April 1993. At that time, I directed Father Kondziolka to remain out of ministry while civil authorities and our Independent Review Board 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 their thorough investigation, the IRB determined that there is not a reasonable cause to believe Father Kondziolka sexually abused the person making the accusation. They recommended that he be returned to ministry and that this file be closed. I have accepted their recommendations.
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 Kondziolka 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 www.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.”
Cardinal Blase Cupich
Archbishop of Chicago