Posted on 11/19/2007 7:48:08 AM PST by Alex Murphy
An Oregon-based Jesuit province has tentatively agreed to pay a record-setting $50 million to settle 110 claims of child sexual abuse in remote Alaska Native villages, attorneys for the accusers said Sunday.
The settlement is the largest ever involving a Catholic religious order, according to a statement issued by plaintiffs' attorneys.
The Oregon Province of the Society of Jesus, headquartered in Portland, includes in its territory Washington, Idaho, Montana and Alaska. It is separate from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Portland, which earlier this year agreed to pay clergy accusers up to $75 million in order to emerge from bankruptcy.
The Rev. John D. Whitney, the Jesuit provincial superior, on Sunday said he was surprised and disappointed by what he called a "premature" announcement.
"While the Jesuits have been dedicated to finding a just and timely solution to these cases, it is my understanding that there are still many issues that need to be finalized before it is appropriate to make an official announcement about a settlement," Whitney said in a statement.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs provided to The Oregonian a copy of an email in which a Portland attorney for the Jesuits confirmed the agreement of the $50 million settlement, but said it likely would take another month to work out the details.
It is unclear how the Northwest Jesuits will cover the settlement. Two years ago, Whitney said that the organization had settled cases up to that point with insurance money, savings and by asking priestly communities to reduce expenses.
He said none of the money had come or could come from prominent Jesuit-affiliated schools such as Gonzaga in Spokane and Jesuit High School in Portland because they are independent organizations.
Insurance money was key to the Portland Archdiocese emerging from bankruptcy. It provided about $50 million of the settlement.
The Jesuits, the largest Catholic religious order in the world with 20,000 members, were founded during the Protestant Reformation. They are known for education and missionary work and report directly to superiors outside the Vatican in Rome.
In Oregon, Jesuit priests teach at colleges and schools and staff more than half a dozen parishes, including St. Ignatius in Southeast Portland.
Jesuits also do missionary work among native peoples in Alaska, Washington, Idaho and Montana. The child sex abuse incidents at the core of the settlement derive from work in Alaska villages, most of them Eskimo, dating back to the 1960s.
"In some villages, it is difficult to find an adult who was not sexually violated by men who used religion and power to rape, shame and then silence hundreds of Alaska Native children," said Ken Roosa, an Anchorage-based attorney for the plaintiffs.
Whitney said in his statement Sunday that the Jesuits were trying to make amends with abuse victims.
"The Society of Jesus is laboring to find just settlements in Alaska and elsewhere for the sake of the survivors of abuse and the many men and women who have had their faith and their lives shaken by the crisis of the last few years," he said. "We proceed carefully in announcing such settlements so as to be respectful of these people and accurate in what we say. Reconciliation is not well served by hasty and ill considered words, and so we will continue to act with care .¤.¤.with appropriate deliberation in reaching and announcing just and lasting settlements."
Separately, the Portland Archdiocese largely closed the book on past priest abuse litigation through the bankruptcy proceeding. The archdiocese settled all existing cases, and put a $20 million cap on cases that come forward in the future.
The Jesuit settlement is unlikely to provide the same level of legal certainty, however, because it could not prevent additional accusers from coming forward in the future.
Although the Jesuits are headquartered here, very few of the accusations involve children in Oregon or priests stationed in the state. Most of the alleged abuse occurred in remote Alaskan Eskimo villages that during the long winters are almost completely cut off from the rest of the world.
"There's no one to tell, no one to turn to, no one to talk to," said Elsie Boudreau, an Anchorage woman who was sexually abused by a Jesuit priest when she was a girl. Boudreau settled her case for $1 million in 2005.
Pope Pius XI called remote Alaska "the most difficult mission in the world" because of the extreme conditions, Whitney said. The challenge of working in such a tough environment has drawn Jesuits from throughout the world.
Attorneys for the accusers say the remoteness of the villages proved ideal for pedophile priests. Many villages lacked phone service, and roads were not passable during the long winters. And the Yupik Eskimos, isolated by geography and culture, were taught to trust their priests absolutely.
Whitney has acknowledged that some Jesuit priests committed abuse. But he has disputed claims by plaintiffs' attorneys that the religious order sent pedophile priests there intentionally or that Jesuit officials ignored reports of abuse.
With these continued large settlements, it appears the Catholic church seems to have undeniably institutionalized perversion.
Oh give me a break. How about all those priests who DIDN’T do these heinous things, who make the sure majority of the priests?
This is the most major thing which keeps me from being a Catholic. I want money I give to churches to be used for good works and not payouts.
There are ways of directing your money so that they don’t have to go to that.
The settlements happen when the problem is brought to light and cleaned up, not when it's "undeniably institutionalized".
Call me when the immense number of child molesters in public schools lead to some "large settlements".
That speaks pretty badly for the Catholic church, doesn’t it?
Appearances are seriously deceiving, then. There are far more child molesters in public schools, as many as 10x more.
And there are plenty of clergy of other denominations with sexual misconduct issues.
If you want to see what "institutionalized perversion" looks like, look at the thread on the other board about the city of Philadephia persecuting the Boy Scouts because they won't accept homosexual scout masters.
Why do you think the Catholic church gets all the bad press, but a city government trying to force homosexuals into an organization full of boys does not?
Speaks pretty badly for your own ability to look behind the headlines and understand which side the players are really on. Think! The MSM will never tell you the whole truth.
How do you know there are all those priests who didn't do these heinous things???
No one knows how many of your priests are perverts, or not perverts...No one knows how many grew up to be Bishops, Cardinals or Popes...
I'm surprised to see no humility from your side...The only response I see is, so what??? Look at all the secular, unChristian school teachers that do the same thing (and I haven't seen all that many of those)...
I don't understand...Where is the uproar...Where's the outrage??? I would expect to see millions of Catholics marching on the vatican and demanding the pope put a stop to this outrage...
The absolute numbers, Alex, not the percentage. That’s just basic math.
What do you think the Pope should do about "putting a stop" to an outrage that occurred in the 1960's? I don't think he can change history, can he?
Happily, Alex provided the relevant link immediately above your post.
4% of priests (and that's not 4% of current priests, either, but 4% of all priests during that time period) are credibly accused.
That means 96% aren't even accused, much less guilty.
Under church(sic) policy, homosexual ministers are required to make a vow of celibacy before they can be ordained.
Just amazing ... they make specific provisions to allow perverts into their ministry ... and don't bat an eyelash when said perverts flagrantly violate their rules.
Protestants need to do some serious house-cleaning.
Many are cold but few are frozen.
The payouts are mostly over. Now jump in and swim the Tiber. Do not let Satan use this to keep you from the Grace and Glory of God and His Son, Our Saviour. None of the great saints allowed anything to come between them and Jesus, and many were sorely tested, much more than most of us.
It's because we're sick of acknowledging it. What do you want us to do next, grovel?
When we do our house-cleaning, Catholics accuse us of not being "one body" and creating kajillions of denominations. When we act like Catholics and let them stay, we're accused of celebrating perversion.
Which do you recommend - letting the perverts multiply and run rampant until their bishops turn 75 in support of "unity" ("celebrating perversion"), or casting off the offending priests/parishes/archdioceses until they repent?
Not only that, but when they do housekeeping of their own, they claim their outcasts are now all ours.
When we act like what we think Catholics act like and let them stay,
There. Fixed it for you.
Protestants who like to carp on problems Catholics are having would do well to pay attention to the numerous ways in which the Catholics are solving said problems. They would also do well to acknowledge the problems within their own communities.
Protestants who wish to retain personal credibility would do well to look beyond the half truths which the MSM is feeding them.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.