NW Jesuit sex abuse settlements top $250M
Alaskans and others who have been sexually abused by Jesuit priests over nearly half a century received a hefty settlement Friday, according to reports. The Seattle Times published a lengthy article on the settlement of lawsuits brought by some 500 victims against the Northwest Jesuits, formerly called the Society of Jesus, Oregon Province. The payout, "one of the largest … in the Roman Catholic Church's sex-abuse crisis, and the largest by a religious order," came in the form of a bankruptcy settlement and was believed to be approximately $166.1 million, according to the Seattle Times. Insurance companies would provide about $118 million and the Jesuits would contribute $48.1 million. The Oregon province of the Rome-based Jesuit order covers Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington, according to Reuters, which reported that most victims were Alaska Natives or Native Americans. The victims were "sexually or psychologically abused as children by Jesuit missionaries in those states in the 1940s through the 1990s," according to the plaintiffs' attorneys. About 57 priests had been identified and removed, and 700 victims compensated nearly $250 million, including this week's settlement, the Seattle Times said. Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan of New York, elected president of the Catholic conference of United States bishops last fall, was quoted by the Catholic News Service as saying that "the painful issue continues to receive our careful attention" and that bishops remained committed to removing from public ministry any priests that committed such "intolerable offenses."
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