The Archdiocese of Chicago announced Tuesday that its investigation of a sexual abuse claim against Father John W. Clemens, who ministered at Park Ridge’s Mary, Seat of Wisdom Church and Rosemont’s Our Lady of Hope Mission, has cleared him of the accusation.
Clemens was the pastor of Rosemont-based Our Lady of Hope Parish until retiring in 2018, according to information on the Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women website. On July 1, 2021, Our Lady of Hope became a mission of Mary, Seat of Wisdom under the Renew My Church initiative, an Archdiocese-wide effort that seeks to use finite resources efficiently.
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Though Clemens officially retired, he has assisted as a priest at both Mary, Seat of Wisdom and Our Lady of Hope on an as-needed basis, an Archdiocese spokeswoman said.
In letters to parishioners at both the church and the mission, Cardinal Blase J. Cupich wrote that the Archdiocese Independent Review Board, assisted by the Archdiocese Office of Child Abuse Investigation and Review and outside investigators, conducted a thorough review of the allegation and determined there was not reasonable cause to believe Clemens had sexually abused youths. He had been accused of abuse that took place more than 50 years ago.
The Archdiocese spokeswoman said the archdiocese notifies the county state’s attorney’s office and the Department of Children and Family Services of all allegations.
“In addition, the Board recommended that the file be closed and Father Clemens be returned to ministry,” Cupich wrote before going on to ask for members to support Clemens as he returned to Our Lady of Hope and Mary, Seat of Wisdom.
“Father Clemens supports the need for us as a Church to keep our word that the safety of children remains our priority,” the letter reads. “At the same time, we must keep our commitment to do everything possible to restore Father Clemens’s good name.”
The archdiocese began its investigation into Clemens and two other priests in September of 2022.