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On Tuesday, March 19, 2002, at St. Raymond Cathedra in Joliet, IL, at 2:30 p.m. CST, Bishop Daniel E. Ryan, former Bishop of Springfield, IL, was co-consecrator at the episcopal ordination of Auxiliary Bishop James E. Fitzgerald of Joliet. Cardinal Francis George presided.

Roman Catholic Faithful was there to protest and take pictures. Photos and articles on this event appeared in their Fall/Winter 2002 issue of Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam, including the following editorial comment:

"On the first few pages of this newsletter, you are going to see photographs of bishops who attended an episcopal ordination in Joliet on March 19, 2002. In what can only be described as the ultimate insult, Bishop Ryan was co-consecrator. Ryan was ceremoniously paraded around for all to see as a token of moral leadership. Not only was he honored as a moral leader, but as someone who was worthy to consecrate a fellow bishop, who will himself influence thousands of lives. Ryan is a man who has sodomized 15- and 16-year-old boys and Catholic priests alike, who has lied, who has used his position of authority to corrupt others to satisfy his own lust and his own desires."

In a way, what is most horrifying is the routine way Ryan has been re-absorbed by his fellow bishops and the Cardinal without any suggestion of either repugnance on their part or public remorse on his. It was business as usual in Illinois--just as it has been for decades.

Bishop Ryan Suspends Ministry Pending Investigation
From the September 1, 2002 Catholic Times, Springfield, IL

Although he has denied the allegation, retired Bishop Daniel L. Ryan has agreed to suspend all public ministry pending an investigation of a claim of sexual abuse of a minor.

In mid-June, attorneys for the diocese received information concerning a statement by Springfield resident Frank Sigretto containing an allegation of sexual misconduct by Bishop Ryan. The incident was said to have occurred in the mid-1980s when Sigretto would have been under the age of 18.

Since the allegation involved sexual abuse of a minor, attorneys for the diocese immediately notified the Sangamon County State's Attorney.

The information was brought to the attention of the diocese by Springfield attorney Frederick Nessler. On July 9, Nessler filed the statement as part of supporting documents in McCormick v. Alvin Campbell et al, an ongoing suit against the diocese, Bishop Ryan and the late Bishop Joseph McNicholas. The suit is related to the Alvin Campbell case of the mid-1980s. In 1985, Campbell, then a priest of the diocese, was convicted in Christian County of sexual abuse of minors, fined and sentenced to 15 years in prison. He was removed from all priestly ministry and subsequently laicized.

Under church law, neither the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, crafted at the bishops' meeting in Dallas last June, nor the diocesan Pastoral Policy on Sexual Abuse of Minors by Church Personnel applies to bishops. Bishop Ryan, however, has agreed to cooperate fully in the investigation.

Under the diocesan policy, an allegation would normally be referred to Diocesan Review Board, a panel of mostly lay people appointed by the bishop to investigate allegations of sexual misconduct with minors. Since some members of the committee were appointed during the episcopacy of Bishop Ryan, Bishop Lucas has asked the review board of another diocese to handle the investigation, thus avoiding the possibility of a conflict of interest among members of the local review board. Any determination about Bishop Ryan's status would ultimately be made by the Holy See

Bishop George Lucas has forwarded all information to the Washington, D.C., office of the papal nuncio, Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo.

No deadline has been set for a conclusion to the investigation, but Bishop Lucas has said he hopes for a timely resolution.