Jesuits settle US sex abuse claims
Source: Agencies |
March 27, 2011, Sunday
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IN one of the largest settlements in the Roman Catholic Church's sweeping sex abuse scandal, an order of priests agreed on Friday to pay US$166.1 million to hundreds of Native Americans and Alaska Natives who were abused at the order's schools in northwestern United States.
The Jesuit order, called the Oregon Province of the Society of Jesus, has been accused of using its schools in remote villages and on reservations as dumping grounds for problem priests.
Attorneys representing the mostly Native American and Alaskan Native victims said the abuse added to the mistreatment already endured by these children, some of whom were forcibly removed from their homes to attend these schools. The settlement between the more than 450 victims and the province also calls for a written apology to the victims and disclosure of documents to them.
"It's a day of reckoning and justice," said Clarita Vargas, 51, who alleges she and her two sisters were abused by the head of St Mary's Mission and School, a former Jesuit-run Indian boarding school on the Colville Indian Reservation near Omak, Washington state, in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
The abuse began when they were as young as six or seven, she said. "My spirit was wounded, and this makes it feel better." The province ran village and reservation schools in Oregon, Washington state, Idaho, Montana and Alaska. The claims are from victims who were students at schools in all five states.
The Very Reverend Patrick Lee, speaking for the Oregon Province, said the organization would not comment on the settlement announcement because of its ongoing bankruptcy proceedings.
The province previously settled another 200 claims. Then it filed for bankruptcy in 2009, claiming the payments had depleted its treasury.
The Jesuit order, called the Oregon Province of the Society of Jesus, has been accused of using its schools in remote villages and on reservations as dumping grounds for problem priests.
Attorneys representing the mostly Native American and Alaskan Native victims said the abuse added to the mistreatment already endured by these children, some of whom were forcibly removed from their homes to attend these schools. The settlement between the more than 450 victims and the province also calls for a written apology to the victims and disclosure of documents to them.
"It's a day of reckoning and justice," said Clarita Vargas, 51, who alleges she and her two sisters were abused by the head of St Mary's Mission and School, a former Jesuit-run Indian boarding school on the Colville Indian Reservation near Omak, Washington state, in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
The abuse began when they were as young as six or seven, she said. "My spirit was wounded, and this makes it feel better." The province ran village and reservation schools in Oregon, Washington state, Idaho, Montana and Alaska. The claims are from victims who were students at schools in all five states.
The Very Reverend Patrick Lee, speaking for the Oregon Province, said the organization would not comment on the settlement announcement because of its ongoing bankruptcy proceedings.
The province previously settled another 200 claims. Then it filed for bankruptcy in 2009, claiming the payments had depleted its treasury.
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