William L. Lupo
Father William Lupo manipulated and sexually abused girls and young women during the 1970s and 1980s across parishes in the Archdiocese of Chicago. He exploited his status as a spiritual guide, and abused his position of trust, to expose his naked body and engage in inappropriate physical contact with young girls, including kissing, prolonged hugging, rubbing of genitals, and in one case, sexual intercourse.
Survivors recall receiving inappropriate letters from Lupo when they were teen girls in his parish. Lupo would sign off with “I love you” and sometimes talk about sex. He also would hug them for 15 to 20 seconds at a time, during which he often groaned, said “I love you,” and rubbed his erect genitalia on their abdomens. Lupo appeared keenly aware of his special status as a spiritual guide—and the access it granted him to young girls’ and women’s bodies as they came to him for counseling.
Despite many opportunities, including more than a decade of allegations, repeated consideration by its review board, repeated substantiations of sexual misconduct, and ongoing monitoring arrangements, the archdiocese did not treat Lupo as the predator he was. In fact, the archdiocese repeatedly declined to remove Lupo from service. Instead, he was assigned to parish after parish. Following his resignation in 2002, more than 20 years after he began manipulating and abusing young girls in the church, the archdiocese permitted him to retain his residence in the rectory for several months.
The archdiocese received some of the earliest allegations of sexual misconduct by Lupo in April 1993, when he was the pastor at Saint Peter Damian in Bartlett. Two sisters and their mother contacted the archdiocese to report that Lupo had abused the girls in the mid-1980s when he was assigned to Saint Mary in Des Plaines. The abuse took place when the girls were approximately 12 to 17 years old and, among other things, consisted of Lupo exposing himself. At the time, the archdiocese was aware of additional allegations of “passionate kissing and hugging over approximately six years with at least 3 teenage girls.”
The review board considered Lupo’s case later that same month and determined “there is reasonable cause to suspect that [Lupo] engaged in sexual misconduct with a minor.” It noted the consistency in the allegations and Lupo’s “acknowledgement of naked exposure of body to one of the teenage girls at the time.” But rather than removal from ministry, the review board merely recommended a live-in monitor and restrictions to ensure Lupo was not alone with children outside of the presence of a responsible adult. Even so, Lupo continued to require teenage girls to meet with him alone in the rectory, ostensibly in preparation for confirmation. Despite becoming aware of this, the board reiterated its recommendations in a subsequent review.
Less than a year later, in May 1994, Lupo wrote the review board requesting it take yet another look at his case. He hoped it would result in the lifting of his restrictions and the closing of his file. Within a month, however, another woman contacted the archdiocese in June 1994 with a report of abuse at Lupo’s hands. This woman reported that the abuse occurred over a period of two years when she was a sophomore and junior in high school and Lupo was assigned to Saint Mary. The abuse consisted of hugging and kissing, as well as Lupo asking the girl to touch his genitals.
The review board found these allegations “seemingly credible.” But the board concluded it still was reasonable to allow Lupo to remain in ministry with monitoring. And this despite the fact that Lupo adopted a victim posture during these proceedings, stating that the allegations “really aggravate[d]” him and that it was “unfair people can do that to” him. He denigrated the survivor and said he was particularly upset that someone like her “can make these” types of allegations.
Lupo remained incredulous regarding the allegations against him and the monitoring required of him. In 1995, he wrote the review board yet again to request he be released from further monitoring, stating that he had come “to understand how my casual attitude toward touch and embracing could be misconstrued.” The board agreed to discontinue all restrictions and monitoring imposed on Lupo and voiced no objection to his appointment to a second six-year term as pastor of Saint Peter Damian.
In late 1998, however, the review board received another letter from someone alleging Lupo had abused them. It determined to reimpose the “minimum level of the protocol established by the Monitoring Subcommittee” and instructed Lupo to not be alone with children without another responsible adult present. Nevertheless, the review board again concluded it was reasonable to allow Lupo to remain in ministry, despite the accumulation of sexual abuse allegations mounting against him. In fact, Lupo received accolades from Cardinal Francis George, who wrote in one letter: “Bill, I know you have done a wonderful job as pastor of Saint Peter Damian. You can take pride in all that has been accomplished under your leadership.” Cardinal George reappointed Lupo in June 2001 for a third term as pastor of Saint Peter Damian.
Less than five months later, however, an adult woman formalized her allegations of inappropriate sexual behavior against Lupo in October 2001. Lupo denied the sexual intercourse but admitted he was affectionate with her and others. He also admitted kissing her, adding it was “more than a peck on the cheek.” The review board was informed of the allegation, but since the person making the allegation was not a child at the time of the incident, the board determined it did not have jurisdiction to conduct a review.
Lupo remained in ministry until the Dallas Charter was issued in June 2002. In his farewell letter to his parish, he continued to deny the allegations against him and stated that “the stress in going through the juridical process [established by the Dallas Charter] would be more than I would care to chance. . . . I have no other real option than to resign my pastorate and to leave the priesthood.” Lupo was laicized in 2014, the same year he was placed on the archdiocese’s public list of child sex abusers. He passed away in April 2021.