Tinley Park Priest Kenneth Fleck Cleared of Abuse Allegation and Reinstated

The Rev. Kenneth Fleck, a longtime priest who led St. George Catholic Church in Tinley Park, has been cleared of an allegation of child sexual abuse and returned to ministry, the Archdiocese of Chicago announced. Cardinal Blase Cupich signed letters on Saturday informing parishes of the outcome.

According to the archdiocese, Fleck was asked in July to stop ministering and to live away from any parish while an investigation took place. The step came after the church learned of a forthcoming lawsuit accusing him of sexual abuse.

"While he strenuously denied the allegation, he fully complied with my request and cooperated with the investigation," Cupich wrote in letters sent to the parishes where Fleck had served.

Cupich said the archdiocese's independent review board carried out a thorough investigation. It concluded there "is not a reasonable cause to believe Father Fleck sexually abused the person making the accusation."

The archdiocese said in July that it asked to interview the person making the allegation in order to gather more information, but the request was denied. The abuse was alleged to have happened more than 30 years ago at Our Lady of Peace Parish on Chicago's South Side, where Fleck was pastor from 1984 until 1996. On Monday, the archdiocese said a lawsuit containing the allegations has not been filed.

Fleck served congregations in Chicago and the south suburbs over five decades. He was pastor of St. George from 2003 until 2020, when he retired from that role but stayed active in ministry. He also served as an associate pastor at St. Jude the Apostle Parish in South Holland from 2002 to 2003. That parish was later combined into Christ Our Savior Parish, the de facto home parish of Pope Leo XIV.

St. George shared the news on its social media on Saturday. "With great joy, the Cardinal announced that Father Ken Fleck has been cleared of any wrong doing," the post said. "We look forward to him getting back into the ministry God has called him to."

The Rev. Paul Seaman, who followed Fleck as pastor at St. George, welcomed the result on Monday. "It's a great day of joy here at St. George and for everyone who knows Father Ken," Seaman said. "We know he's a man of integrity and faith and care for people." Seaman said the parish community stood behind Fleck throughout the process. "This is a situation that for whatever reason he had to go through, and we went through it with him," he said. "We're just overjoyed by the final determination."

Fleck could not be reached for comment. In June, St. George marked the 50th anniversary of his entry into the priesthood with a special Mass attended by an estimated 700 people. Since retiring in 2020, he has visited the sick across the Chicago area and celebrated Mass at parishes that were shorthanded.