The second accuser of Fr. Larry Reuter SJ was interviewed by WGN-TV, not on camera and with voice disguised. Forty years old and married with two children, the man says the abuse started in the late 80s, when he was a Loyola Academy junior. He sought and got guidance from Reuter, he says, and appreciated it. But matters between them took a turn for the worse.
Reuter “started feeling comfortable giving me a hug, supporting me as a friend,” he said. “All of a sudden (the hug) became a kiss on the lips.”
Abused by a neighbor as a second-grader, he had been a failure in school and had turned to drugs and drink when his parents sent him to Loyola as providing “structure,” he said.
Since then,
“I’ve been on drugs, I drank too much, and I was in trouble with police. There is not a single thing in my life that has been more detrimental to my life than being abused by somebody else.”
The interview is also posted at City of Angels: Action 2010. This site also has a copy of a page appearing to be from Jesuit files on Donald McGuire SJ, the convicted abuser now in federal prison. These are “Minutes of the Chicago Province Consultors Meeting, June 12–14, 2007,” at which McGuire’s fate as a Jesuit was decided, namely to recommend his dismissal from the Jesuits and the priesthood “on grounds of sexual misconduct.”
Among the three “consultors” (advisors to the provincial superior) was “Fr. Lawrence Reuter, S.J.,” who is noted as absent on the third day of the meeting, June 14. This is clearly the Larry Reuter recently suspended after admitting abuse in a case settled years earlier.
Pencilled or otherwise hand-printed on the sheet is the notation, “IN RE: PRACTICA QUAEDAM #146.5,” which may be read, “regarding certain practical matters,” or even a generic “matters to be considered.” In any case, the notation is easily recognizable as routine ecclesiastical usage.
The group also decided to recommend to “Fr. General” in Rome (as was the other recommendation) “that Fr. McGuire’s request for a judicial penal process be declined.” His case being apparently judged as beyond an appeal stage and deserving no further investigation.
Ten others were at the three-day meeting besides the three consultors — the provincial, the “socius” (a sort of vice provincial), two Jesuit “consultants,” four other Jesuits “invited as periti [experts],” two laymen-full-time-employes, and a female executive assistant who took minutes.
The apparent authenticity of the document — “leaked,” says the blog’s author Kay Ebeling in the blog item — is noteworthy: who had access to the document and cared enough about the matter to do the leaking?
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Later: Apt summary by commenter “Christopher” at Deep Thoughts [“d” is texting for “the”?]:
from loyola academy larry reuter was made rector of loyola university chicago in the 90’s up to 2002. he was a big gun in the chicago province jesuits. the provincial superior, i suppose, knew of d inappropriate encounter since the province “settled” d case with d high school boy. yet d superior appointed larry to the rectorship of a big jesuit univ community, not to mention that larry was also d vice president for university ministries. i guess this is part of the jesuit way of proceeding as they call it. perhaps it’s time for the jesuits and d whole catholic church to change the “secretive” nature of autocracy. intelligent and liberal-minded jesuits must speak out against this outdated 16th century system of traditional way of proceeding.
“D” “intelligent and liberal-minded jesuits” is a challenge to the best and brightest.
Blithe Spirit 