Jesuits to pay $50 million in child sex abuse claims

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.

1) Anyone who thinks "welcoming gays" (or similar language) has anything to do with calling them to repentance is practicing a peculiar form of self delusion.

I agree. It wasn't what I was talking about.

2) Pointing out the duplicity and dishonesty of the MSM isn't "circling the wagons".

You were doing that, pointing out the duplicity and dishonesty of the MSM? Where? Which post?

It's pointing out the truth. Deal with it.

What do you think I'm not "dealing with"?

3) Believing the duplicitous and dishonest drivel from the MSM, because it happens to confirm one's prejudices, is stupid.

What do you think my prejudices are, what has the article confirmed?

4) Finger pointing? The masters of finger-pointing are protestant.

I went back to that link you posted, to read the responses.

Ten posts in the Catholic church got its first mention, but "mainline Protestants" got higher billing in the response. Second mention was someone posting the belief that only the Catholic church will exist in a hundred years. Third mention was "cafeteria Catholics" & I think the poster was a Catholic. There were 68 responses & not one of them was along the line of "Catholics are worse". Instead, most posts were about the article, denouncing the people the article was about.

Looking at the responses in this thread, we find fingers pointed at school teachers & Protties. Took 28 posts before the first Catholic stepped in with a comment that I consider to be properly addressing the issue at hand.

Again:

Log. Eye.

Ditto!

Deal with it.

Again with a "deal with it". What's that all about? You saying I should deal with 100 kooks in another confession? They're ignoring their own church, so what makes you think there's anything that people who aren't in communion with them can do about them, beyond inviting good Christians to come out of that body if their church doesn't take appropriate action against that congregation?

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