Lawsuits Accuse Late Pastor of Orchestrating Child Abuse at Chicago Parish

The Rev. George Clements, a known figure in the Black Catholic movement and creator of the “One Church, One Child” adoption initiative, is accused in a new series of lawsuits against the Archdiocese of Chicago of operating a “decades-long child sex ring” at his South Side parish.

Sean O’Malley, a lawyer at Hart McLaughlin & Eldridge, announced these suits, stating, “The charismatic local icon, civil rights leader, and famed adopter of four children was an absolute imposter and perhaps the most prolific child molester in the history of the Archdiocese of Chicago.”

Clements was installed as pastor of the Holy Angels Parish in 1969, serving for 22 years. Lawsuits allege that he used the parish school as a site for routine sexual abuse during this time. Over 100 clients accused Clements or his associates of abuse, with claimants as young as 5. Allegations suggest that the Archdiocese ignored complaints due to the students’ race and poverty.

Photos of abuse survivors were displayed during a lawsuit announcement on October 13, 2026. Shortly after taking over the parish, Clements appointed Paul Smith as principal. Together, they established a disciplinarian regime at the school, allegedly using corporal punishment as a pretext to abuse young boys.

In 1972, Rev. Kenneth Brigham, another priest faced with past abuse allegations, began living at Holy Angels. Clements, Brigham, and Smith reportedly hosted student parties where they isolated and abused children. Even after Brigham’s departure in 1978, allegations persist of a “multidimensional sex ring operation.”

The lawsuits describe specific incidents, such as a sixth-grade boy being abused under the guise of adjusting his altar boy uniform, and a third-grade boy groomed and abused over three years.

“He offered mentorship to young boys, only to take advantage of them,” the lawsuit claims about Clements.

John Calicott replaced Clements in 1991, also allegedly abusing boys. Despite facing public sexual abuse claims in 1993, he was reinstated by the Archdiocese in 1995. He continued abusing boys until removed in 2002 due to new guidelines on church sexual abuse.

Clements passed away in 2019, shortly after investigations began on an abuse claim against him. Smith was killed in 1996, and Brigham died in 2006. The Archdiocese, in response to inquiries, stated it does not tolerate behavior that risks children, stressing its protocols for child safety, adopted in 1992, and its processes for reporting allegations and supporting abuse survivors.