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Statement of the Archdiocese of Chicago on Inadvertent Data Disclosure

March 23, 2019

On March 19, 2019, senior leadership of the Archdiocese of Chicago were informed that on March 14, 2019 an email containing a spreadsheet listing all current and a substantial number of former religious and lay employees’ and archdiocesan priests' names, birth dates, and Social Security Numbers was inadvertently sent to parish business administrators.

As soon as senior ​archdiocesan leadership learned of this matter, they immediately began an investigation and activated a corrective action plan. While the Archdiocese of Chicago has no evidence that this data has been shared beyond its parish business administrators, the protection and safeguarding of its employees’ personal information is of the utmost importance. Therefore, out of an abundance of caution, the ​archdiocese is providing all affected individuals with free pro-active credit monitoring services. 

This inadvertent disclosure could affect individuals who were employed by the Archdiocese of Chicago during 2007 and after. Anyone employed by the Archdiocese of Chicago within that time period should review the Archdiocese of Chicago’s website, archchicago.org, for more information about how to obtain the free pro-active credit monitoring services. 

The Archdiocese of Chicago takes this matter very seriously and regrets any concern this situation has caused.