Originally published January 4, 2008 at 12:00 AM | Page modified January 4, 2008 at 10:50 AM
Jesuits agree to settlement in abuse case
The Jesuit order in the Northwest has agreed to pay $4.8 million to 16 Native Americans who were sexually and physically abused years ago...
Seattle Times religion reporter
The Jesuit order in the Northwest has agreed to pay $4.8 million to 16 Native Americans who were sexually and physically abused years ago when they were students at a boarding school near Omak.
The Roman Catholic order — formally named the Society of Jesus — and attorneys for the 15 women and one man announced the settlement Thursday. It comes two months after the Jesuits agreed to a record $50 million settlement stemming from abuses in Alaska.
The victims in Thursday's settlement had all boarded at the St. Mary's Mission and School on the Colville Indian Reservation. They say they were abused in the late 1960s and early 1970s by a Jesuit priest and a Jesuit brother.
"I am profoundly sorry for the pain and suffering of these people, and for the violation of trust, which they have felt," said the Very Rev. John Whitney, head of the Society of Jesus, Oregon Province, which covers Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Montana and Idaho.
"We hope that this settlement can be the beginning of a healing process by which these survivors and the whole community can become stronger and more at peace."
Most of the $4.8 million will be covered by insurance, Whitney said. The province is planning to pay for the rest by selling stocks and other investments.
The settlement also calls for the Jesuits to raise at least $200,000 over the next year for homeless services in the Omak area — an issue on the reservation, said Michael Pfau of Seattle, an attorney for the victims. The agreement "compensates the victims and helps people on the reservation," he said.
The victims, who ranged in age from about 7 to 12 when the abuses happened, say they were abused by the Rev. John Morse and Brother James Gates. Morse, who lives in a Jesuit community in Spokane, denies the allegations, according to the Oregon Province.
Gates, who belongs to the Detroit Province, lives in a Jesuit community in Michigan, the Oregon Province said.
Allegations of past sexual abuse by Jesuit priests and brothers have come from around the province, including Washington state. But the bulk of the cases involved Jesuits who served in Alaska. So many cases have been filed that provincial leaders were considering filing for bankruptcy.
That's less likely to happen now that the province knows that insurance is covering much of the recent settlements.
In November, the province agreed to pay $50 million to 110 Alaska Natives — believed to be the largest settlement by a religious order in the Catholic Church abuse cases. Insurance is paying $45 million of that amount.
![]()
"The fact that we've had these settlements within a range we can manage means at least we have some breathing room," Whitney said.
But in exchange, the province agreed to give up its insurance coverage in Alaska, meaning it would have to bear all costs of any new cases filed against it in Alaska.
"It's a dangerous proposition but it was the way to get the settlement," Whitney said.
He said bankruptcy could be a possibility if many more cases come up, though "we're hopeful that the major part of the cases have been dealt with financially."
Janet I. Tu: 206-464-2272 or jtu@seattletimes.com
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
DNA, ballistics tie man to cop killing, police say
Greenwood merchants nervous after 3 more arsons
UW to honor war heroes with Medal of Honor shrine
NEW - 07:56 AM
Reward in Greenwood arsons raised to $25,000
Nicole Brodeur: Praise pours on the water man

Ken Auletta talks about "Googled"
Ken Auletta talks about Google with Brier Dudley at the Seattle Central Library.
nwjobs

Post a comment

Michelle Goodman blogs about work/life balance.
How to tell your office you're gravely ill
Post a comment
nwautos

Choosing a new sedan? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet.
Post a comment
- 'Missing' SeaTac man found with new name, in new state
- Police: DNA from officer's slaying matches suspect
- Prosecutors consider charges against suspect in police shooting
- Three more fires ignite in Greenwood
- Steve Kelley | Hasselbeck gives Seahawks' sagging season a stay of execution
- Plans call for Triangle to become West Seattle gateway
- McGinn next Seattle mayor; Mallahan concedes as vote gap widens
- Bill Clinton meets with Senate Dems on health care
- Trucker dies as big-rig plummets off SF bridge
- Lt. governor's son shot by co-worker in Kent; gunman then shot self
- House health bill unacceptable to many in Senate
257 - Prosecutors prepare charges against suspect in police shooting
255 - Pelosi tours Seattle's Swedish after health-care vote
180 - Prosecutors prepare charges against suspect in police shooting
144 - Alleged shooter tied to mosque of 9/11 hijackers
136 - Obama puts heat on Senate to speed health bill
125 - Resolute Fort Hood soldiers ready for return
121 - McGinn more than doubles his lead over Mallahan
109 - Josh Smith picks UCLA
74 - Cutaia says replay handled properly on Austin TD
69
- For 80-year-old Maple Valley man, hoops aren't just a dream
- Plans call for Triangle to become West Seattle gateway
- Three more fires ignite in Greenwood
- 'Missing' SeaTac man found with new name, in new state
- Silver Lake restaurant destroyed by fire
- Pakistani-American cafe, bar owner on verge of being Granite Falls mayor
- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tours Seattle's Swedish after health-care vote
- Taste | Ruth Reichl still reigns as queen of America's culinary scene
- All You Can Eat | Fruit flies: thrill to the kill
- Police: DNA from officer's slaying matches suspect





