Another 500 US priests suspected of child abuse

(ANSA) - Washington, December 19 - The Catholic Church in Illinois has been accused of covering up for sexual abuse perpetrated by 500 priests in six dioceses of the state. Some 185 other cases had previously been discovered. The Church stands accused of hiding some of these cases, conducting inadequate inquiries into others, never investigating them at all and/or not reporting the suspected abuse to the authorities. The investigation in Illinois started in August after a shocking report published in Pennsylvania, where at least 300 members of the clergy reportedly sexually abused over a thousand children.