Institute of Politics

Last August, the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office released a grand jury report detailing charges of child sexual abuse by more than 300 Catholic priests in Pennsylvania over 70 years. Four months later, the Illinois Attorney General’s office followed suit, releasing its own report that outlined accusations against 690 priests in Illinois. Together, these reports represented two of the largest U.S. government examinations of the ongoing sexual abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Church. Now, join the IOP and The Martin Marty Center for the Public Understanding of Religion as we welcome Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro and former Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan for a conversation on their offices’ findings, the challenges each encountered during these processes, and where these investigations will go next. Attorney General Shapiro has been in office since 2017, having previously served as a Pennsylvania state representative. Attorney General Madigan served from 2003-2019 and is now a Resident Pritzker Fellow at the IOP. This conversation will be moderated by Mary Ann Ahearn, political reporter for NBC Chicago.