Long-dead priest haunts the northwest's Jesuits

[Missizzy]

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2010/02/jesuit_priest_who_abused_boys.html

Jesuit priest who abused boys casts shadow in the Northwest long after his death



"A long-dead Catholic priest haunts the region's Jesuits.

From novitiate to priesthood, the Rev. Michael Toulouse stood apart. Superiors described him as frivolous, vainglorious, short on religious discipline, lacking judgment and prudence, a man with serious character flaws.

By 1950, they knew why: Toulouse was an accused rapist with a predilection for boys.

The priest died more than 30 years ago. But a group of men, some of them now gray, still seek justice for what they describe as Toulouse's serial molestation of them from 1948 to 1970.

They are among 500 people with open claims of abuse against the region's Portland-based Jesuits, who sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection a year ago in the face of vast legal exposure. The case, now in mediation, makes them creditors in the bankruptcy...."

more at link

[Missizzy]

An update:

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2011/03/northwest_jesuit_settlement.html

Northwest Jesuits settle sex abuse claims with $166 million bankruptcy agreement

"....Lawyers announced that the Northwest's Jesuits and their insurers had agreed to pay $166.1 million in a bankruptcy settlement aimed at compensating her [a victim] and more than 500 others with active claims of sexual or physical abuse against priests in Oregon, Washington and three other states.

Most of the claims described sexual abuse at missions and indigenous reservations from the remote hamlets of Alaska to the rangelands of Montana. Others said Jesuit priests molested them at dioceses across the region. Some of the abuse dated to the 1940s....."

and

"....The settlement announcement came 766 days after the region's Jesuit leadership filed bankruptcy. The Chapter 11 reorganization followed a stretch, dating to 2001, when the Portland-based Jesuits -- known formally as the Society of Jesus, Oregon Province -- paid $25 million in abuse claims.

The proposed settlement is intended to bring financial stability to the province. But it also brings a measure of vindication to those whose lives were shattered by men entrusted to guide and protect them...."

more at link

[Missizzy]

Maybe, just maybe, some vicitms/survivors have a small sense of closure tonight. It's been a very long battle--50 years. My heart goes out to each and every one of them and their loved ones.

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2011/04/regions_jesuits_formalize_1661.html

Region's Jesuits formalize $166.1 million bankruptcy settlement, will offer apology to victims of sex abuse


"The region's Jesuits formalized their Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization tonight, promising that they and their insurers will pay $166.1 million to settle sex abuse claims made by more than 500 people against priests who worked in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest.

Tonight's 90-page joint plan of reorganization, filed in Portland's U.S. Bankruptcy Court, also spells out the ways that the Jesuits will apologize for the harm that priests did to people, mostly children, dating back to the 1940s.

The plan notes Safeco Insurance Co. will pay $118 million and the region's Jesuits will contribute $43.1 million, with nearly $6.5 million set aside in a reserve fund for future abuse claims. The payout also specifies attorney's fees...."

more at link


My guess is that Safeco is not real pleased about this situation. I wonder if insurance companies of organizations such as this will now take a greater interest in the actual safety of the children being served?