Northwest Side pastor reinstated following sexual abuse investigation by Archdiocese of Chicago

The Archdiocese of Chicago reinstated the Rev. Daniel McCarthy to a Northwest Side parish less than a year after a decades-old sexual abuse allegation surfaced.

In a letter released Monday to the congregation of St. Elizabeth of the Trinity Parish and School, Cardinal Blase J. Cupich stated McCarthy would be reinstated effective immediately following an investigation from last year’s report.

“The Review Board has concluded that there is insufficient reason to suspect Father McCarthy is guilty of these allegations,” Cupich stated in the letter.

McCarthy had been removed from the Catholic church, located at 6020 W. Ardmore Ave., in the Norwood Park neighborhood, in October after he was accused of sexually abusing a minor about 50 years ago while he was assigned to the now-closed Angel Guardian Orphanage in West Ridge.

He was told to live away from the parish until the investigation was concluded.

In the letter, Cupich said he accepted the board’s findings, and McCarthy will resume his position as pastor emeritus and returned to his living quarters at the church.

On its website, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity Parish and School stated it would welcome McCarthy “back with open arms.”

Elvia Malagón’s reporting on social justice and income inequality is made possible by a grant from The Chicago Community Trust.