Sex abuse survivors, advocates protest as new archbishop to be installed

Nate's Mission says new archbishop agreed to meet with group

By Kristin Pierce, WISN12 News, January 13, 2025

MILWAUKEE —

Inside the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in downtown Milwaukee, a service was held for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee's new archbishop.

Outside, there was a demand for change from Nate's Mission.

"Business as usual is not OK," said Sarah Pearson, Nate's Mission deputy director.

The group against clergy sex abuse stood outside the cathedral Monday demanding justice, and asking for a meeting with the new archbishop.

"They want to pretend like these people don't exist, like what happened to them didn't happen, like it's over and it's done, and it's dealt with, and it's not," Pearson said.

The Wisconsin Department of Justice launched the Clergy and Faith Leader Abuse Initiative in 2021, years after a bankruptcy case identified 550 abuse survivors.

The initiative works to support survivors and review clergy and faith leader abuse.

Advocates want to help that work continue. Monday, they handed the Rev. Jeffrey Grob a letter urging him to do a few things within his first 100 days as archbishop:

1. Provide abuse-related documents and evidence to the DOJ

2. Remove anyone from a position of leadership involved in the cover-up of sexual abuse

3. Update the list of "restricted priests"

"We need to get those individuals on the registry," said Peter Isely, Nate's Mission program director. "They promised us they would do that so the public knows about who they are."

Nate's Mission reports the new archbishop has agreed to meet with them soon.

The Archdiocese of Milwaukee has a section on its website responding to clergy abuse allegations. It includes comments from now-retired Archbishop Jerome Listecki, who said the site is one of many steps the archdiocese is taking to "progress down the path of healing and prevention of clergy sexual abuse."