Nome priest accused of sex abuse( Baby raper pressures girl to have abortion)

Anchorage Daily News ^ | June 17, 2004 | NICOLE TSONG

[AlaskaErik]

LAWSUIT: "Jane Doe 2" says the Rev. James Poole impregnated her as a teen.

A Jesuit priest already facing accusations of sexual abuse now faces another lawsuit by a woman who says he molested her as a child, got her pregnant at 14 and told her to "get rid of the baby," according to the new suit filed in Nome Wednesday.

[AlaskaErik]

This sorry-assed dirt-bag undoubtedly isn't sorry about the abortion. Rather, he is sorry he got exposed. When will this all end?

[conservative in nyc]

If the allegations are true, I agree with you.

But this article really only discusses the plaintiff's side of the story. It's probably her lawyer's way of tainting the jury pool. The priest has denied the allegations. And we have no way of knowing whether the plaintiff is truly out for justice or out for money without hearing from both sides. For all we know, there's no record of any abortion ever taking place. I'm withholding judgment until we know more.

[GSlob]

One of the early church fathers, St. Origen, in order to better fight the temptation, castrated himself. Maybe one should go back to the roots and make emulating him a prerequisite for priestly ordination.

[AlaskaErik]

One of the early church fathers, St. Origen, in order to better fight the temptation, castrated himself. Maybe one should go back to the roots and make emulating him a prerequisite for priestly ordination.

Makes sense to me. It certainly gives the impression of commitment.

[protest1]

The lawsuit also claims that former Fairbanks Bishop Francis Gleeson knew as early as 1961 that Poole frequently took girls ages 12 or 13 into secluded areas of his office and spent hours at a time alone with them and that people suspected something improper was happening. But Gleeson took no action, the complaint says. Gleeson died in 1983.

Sounds believable to me, time will tell, but this does looks like the "standard scenario". Roman Catholic Church aware of allegations of widespread abuse for decades but does nothing allowing abuse to continue.

[conservative in nyc]

Sounds believable to me, time will tell, but this does looks like the "standard scenario".

It's not the media's "standard scenario" because it involves girls, not boys. But if there are other victims to corroborate her claim, yes, it doesn't sound good for Fr. Poole.

There's as much, if not more, sexual abuse perpetuated on minors by educrats in our publik skools. But the media doesn't view attacking the NEA as "sexy" a story as attacking our faith-based institutions like the Catholic Church.

[beckett]

Just so you know, Origen is not a saint.

[Katya]

I would really like to know how many of the abusive priests in the church scandals have been Jesuits?

[Desdemona]

I would really like to know how many of the abusive priests in the church scandals have been Jesuits?

Because they were the first to compromise and modernize in practice, philosophy and theology. You see the same deterioration in the Sisters of Loretto and the Ursulines. They also are not under the thumb of diocesan prelates, being an order rather than diocesan priests, so their conduct isn't monitored as closely.

I'm praying for this all to end soon, but I fear the worst may be yet to come.

[Desdemona]

Sorry, it's too early in the morning! I misread your post.

I'm curious, too, about the Jesuits. THey were once God's Marines. No longer.

[beckett]

I would really like to know how many of the abusive priests in the church scandals have been Jesuits?

My guess (I've done no research on the question) is that a very tiny percentage of Jesuits are now or have ever been involved in the child abuse/sex scandals in the RCC.

For all their manifest apostasy in numerous areas of Catholic theology, Jesuits remain the most rigorously trained clergy in the Church. Thus they are usually found in institutions of higher learning, bringing them in contact with persons past childhood and adolescence. They also rarely are involved in strictly pastoral duties, which is the means of access to families and children most abusive priests have used.

Like I say, I haven't researched the question, but I feel pretty confident that the name of a Jesuit has come up only very rarely in the spate of scandals that have inundated the RCC in recent decades.

[Desdemona]

I've met my fair share of Jesuits who are actually homosexual and there have been rumors about one in town for years. Are they pedophiles? No. But what they have done to their order is a scandal in and of itself.