Seven lawsuits filed Tuesday accuse the Archdiocese of Chicago of allowing sexual abuse of children to continue at the former Holy Angels Parish and school in Bronzeville, despite knowing of allegations against priests assigned there. The cases were filed on behalf of seven alleged survivors. Lawyers with Hart McLaughlin & Eldridge said they believe more than 100 Black children, some as young as 5, were abused by priests connected to the parish over several decades, and said they plan to file dozens of additional lawsuits. At a news conference in the Loop, attorney Steven Hart said the suits seek compensation for the harm his clients say they suffered and an acknowledgment that the Archdiocese failed to protect them. “For decades, the institution that was supposed to be a sanctuary for family and children became a place where their innocence was stolen,” Hart said. The suits name the Rev. George Clements, the Rev. Paul Smith, the Rev. John Calicott and the Rev. Kenneth Brigham, all of whom have died. Lawyers said they have documentation that the Archdiocese knew of allegations against the four. Only Calicott appears on the Archdiocese’s list of clergy with substantiated allegations. The lawsuits allege the Archdiocese assigned Calicott to Holy Angels despite knowing of a history of child sexual abuse. He was placed under monitoring in 1994, reinstated the following year and permanently removed from ministry in 2002, according to the account of the cases presented by the lawyers. They allege one client was abused at the parish after Calicott’s reinstatement. Clements became Holy Angels’ first Black pastor in 1969. Under his and Smith’s leadership, the school grew to more than 1,300 students and was described as the nation’s largest Black Catholic school. Smith, who served as principal, was killed by an intruder at his home in 1996. The lawyers allege Clements and Smith abused children together. Clements, a prominent South Side civil rights advocate who died in 2019, was accused of sexually abusing a minor in 1974 months before his death. He called that allegation “totally unfounded.” The new allegations in the lawsuits have not been established in court. Attorney Sean O’Malley argued that race shaped how the Archdiocese responded to abuse allegations involving Black children at Holy Angels, alleging that the institution discounted victims or treated them with indifference. He also claimed the church was reluctant to act because of Clements’ political influence. The Archdiocese said it does not comment on pending lawsuits.