Rev. Francis Lee Ryan was “given the chance” to study for the priesthood in 1959 and was ordained in 1968.  In the early 1970s, the Diocese of Joliet received multiple letters from parishioners “criticizing Father Ryan,” however the Diocese has yet to produce those letters.  In 1985, the Diocese appointed Ryan as Diocesan Director of Vocations, a position of power he used to groom and abuse young boys who desired to enter the priesthood.  In April 1991 the Diocese received ...

Difficulties with Father James Nowak began early on while he was still in the seminary.  In 1960, he was asked to leave the Capuchin Order because he was not “fit in regard to the vow of chastity.”  It was generally known that Nowak repeatedly watched others in the shower or using the restroom, and would roam the corridors and frequent the showers in order to seek such opportunities.  When he wrote to Bishop Blanchette in 1966 to request incardination into ...

Throughout Father Michael Gibbney’s seminary years in the early 1970s, many of his superiors not only expressed their concerns about Gibbney, but many also refused to recommend him for advancement.  In 1975 when Gibbney petitioned the Bishop of Joliet for ordination, the Bishop was instructed to pay attention to “certain items” in Gibbney’s file that required attention and a subcommittee was formed.  Over objections by some on the Seminary Board, Gibbney was ordained in 1975.  In 1985 after a father ...

Father Lawrence Gibbs, considered Joliet’s “most notorious priest abuser,” was recognized early on in seminary as a “poor candidate” for the priesthood.  The Diocese of Joliet received repeated warnings about the character and propensities of Father Gibbs.  Although in 1964 the faculty at St. Mary of the Lake seminary voted against allowing Gibbs to continue with his vocation and subsequently asked him to leave, Gibbs continued on at St. Procopius seminary.  Again his superiors informed the Diocese of Joliet that ...

Originally a Trappist monk, Father Lowell Fischer requested incardination into the Diocese of Joliet in 1962.  Fischer wrote to Bishop Blanchette and explained that he had worked with young boys for the past four years, but that his “extremely active work” caused many “misinterpretations and misunderstandings.”  When Fischer left the monastery, his former abbot cautioned Bishop McNamara to put Fischer under “careful surveillance of a good experienced pastor . . . lest in his naiveté, he might make some serious ...

While Father Myles White was still in seminary, concerns arose regarding not only his temperament but also his ability to keep the vow of chastity.  In 1967, the Diocese of Joliet stressed that it was of “paramount importance” that White be fully aware of what the law of celibacy requires and the necessity for White to provide an “explicit statement concerning celibacy.”  In 1968, the Chancellor of the Diocese of Joliet is made aware that White engaged in acts of ...