James Serritella, Counselor in Church Sex-Abuse Crisis, Dies at 78
He advised four Chicago cardinals and advanced the U.S. bishops’ zero-tolerance policy toward clergy guilty of sex crimes.
James A. Serritella with Pope John Paul II in 1997. His influence extended from the National Conference of Catholic Bishops to the U.S. Supreme Court.Credit.via Serritella family
Published May 5, 2021Updated May 10, 2021
James A. Serritella, a lapsed seminarian who as counsel to four cardinals overseeing the Archdiocese of Chicago encouraged them and eventually the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to bar priests credibly accused of sexually abusing children, died on April 23 in Chicago. He was 78.