A Lake Zurich Catholic priest is out after years of persistent child sexual abuse allegations, but regional church leaders have sent him away with public praise.
The Rev. David Ryan of St. Francis De Sales Parish will be temporarily replaced by the Rev. Steven Lanza, according to a letter in the parish’s Feb. 8 bulletin from Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, archbishop of Chicago.
Cupich, warning there was “little likelihood” that recent allegations against Ryan would be resolved “within the foreseeable future,” said he had informed Ryan as of Feb. 1 that he was retired, leaving the position of pastor vacant and allowing the search for a successor to begin.
Lanza has come out of retirement to serve as parish administrator until June 30, Cupich said.
According to previous reporting, Ryan was first appointed in 2006 at St. Francis de Sales, and reappointed in 2012.
The archdiocese first placed Ryan on leave in 2020 amid allegations that he abused a minor at the historically troubled Maryville Academy, then a church-run home for troubled youth in Des Plaines.
Ryan was reinstated in September 2021, only for Cupich to address the congregation days later with the revelation of “additional information, not previously provided … that will mean delaying Father Ryan’s return.”
In February 2023, he was again reinstated, and at the time, Cupich sent a letter citing a lack of cooperation from Ryan’s accusers. Cupich referenced what he described as a “thorough investigation” by the archdiocese before reaching his decision to reinstate Ryan.
He wrote that Ryan’s accusers “refused to cooperate with both civil and church investigations.” As a result, he wrote, “The IRB finds that there is not sufficient reason to suspect Father Ryan is guilty of sexually abusing a minor and recommends he be returned to ministry and that the files be closed on these two claims due to the lack of cooperation of those making the accusations.”
Cupich wrote that Ryan “strenuously denies this allegation, and states that he has never harmed a child,” and once again noted that the archdiocese’s investigative process begins, “with the presumption that one is innocent until proven otherwise.”
Additional allegations arose last year in connection with a civil complaint in Cook County against Maryville that, in the mid-1990s, during his years on staff at Maryville Academy, Ryan sexually abused a child.
Most of those allegations surround the Rev. John P. Smyth, a Chicago archdiocese priest who spent more than 40 years in leadership roles at Maryville, including that of executive director. Smyth, who left Maryville in 2004, died in April 2019, around the time accusers began to emerge claiming that he’d sexually abused them when they were children.
Ryan served as Smyth’s co-director at Maryville in the 1990s, when much of the abuse is alleged to have occurred.
In a complaint filed last year, a former Maryville resident, identified in court documents as John Doe 6, alleged that he was sexually abused by Smyth and Ryan after being placed at Maryville in 1996. The lawsuit states the alleged abuse took place for about a year when the boy was around 11 years of age.
The filing also contains accusations from nearly a dozen other victims, identified only by number. Victim No. 11, as the lawsuit describes him, claimed that Smyth and Ryan made him “feel like a ‘sex slave’” while he lived at Maryville.
‘Gather our memories’
Despite the controversy surrounding his exit, Cupich praised Ryan for his “exemplary leadership,” working beyond retirement age.
“Yet, it is clear to me that it is time for new leadership so that the parish can build on the growth you have accomplished together during the years he served as your pastor,” Cupich said.
Cupich framed the move as a “kindness” to Ryan, calling for the parish to continue to support him moving forward as a new parish leader is found.
Also in the Feb. 8 edition of the parish bulletin was a letter from the parish requesting members “gather our memories” of the outgoing Ryan, to “remember all the good and significant things he has done for this parish.”
It praised Ryan for pulling the parish out of debt when he arrived in 2006, “through sound financial management and prudent use of capital, that debt was retired, and the parish is currently debt free.”
“We continue to pray for him and honor all he has done for us. We pray that the allegations made be expeditiously resolved so he can join the many retired priests who serve the Archdiocese of Chicago in so many important ministries,” the letter said.
The parish plans to create a “memory book,” celebrating Ryan’s “positive impact” on the community, including letters of appreciation, photos and “shared memories that highlight what a great leader and pastor he was during his tenure at St. Francis de Sales.”
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