Illinois Bishop Says He Felt No Obligation to Tell Authorities About Alleged Sexual Abuse

Joliet, Illinois Bishop Joseph Imesch said during a deposition that has been released at the request of the Chicago Tribune and the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Abuse that a priest he worked with in Michigan had confided that he sexually abused an altar boy. Bishop Imesch said he felt no obligation to tell authorities who were investigating the incident.  The deposition is part of a lawsuit in which it is alleged that another priest, Rev. Edward Stefanich, sexually abused a man in the 1960s. The diocese had fought to keep the document sealed arguing that its release allows the case to be tried in the media before any ruling could be made on evidence.  Source:  Crystal Yednak, David Heinzmann, Chicago Tribune, chicagotribune.com. For complete details about this story, please click here (last visited February 4, 2006, reo).