Sexual abuse scandal in the Society of Jesus

The Society of Jesus has had different episodes of Catholic sex abuse cases in various jurisdictions.

In February 2008, the diocese of Fairbanks announced plans to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, claiming inability to pay the 140 plaintiffs who filed claims against the diocese for alleged sexual abuse by priests or church workers dating from the 1950s to the early 1980s. The Society of Jesus, Oregon Province, was named as a co-defendant in the case, and settled for $50 million. The Diocese, which reports an operating budget of approximately $6 million, claims one of the diocese’s insurance carriers failed to "participate meaningfully".

The lawsuits in the Fairbanks diocese have also affected the Jesuit community in the diocese of Portland, given that the Western Province of the American Jesuits is located in the State of Oregon.

In 2002, criminal charges were brought against five Roman Catholic priests in the Boston area of the United States, John Geoghan, John Hanlon, Paul Shanley, Robert V. Gale and Jesuit priest James Talbot, which ultimately resulted in the conviction and sentencing of each to prison.

In 1998, nine male alumni claimed that they had been molested while attending the Jesuit school Cheverus. Two former faculty members were accused. The school confirmed the abuse and apologized to the victims. The victims also accused both Cheverus High School and the Portland Diocese of hiding information, and that they had previously known about the abuse. Settlements to victims have reached a cumulative seven figures, with ongoing counseling additional. Primarily, two long time Cheverus faculty members, one the former chair of the English Department, the other, the former head of the Track Team, have admitted they are guilty. Both teachers lost their jobs at Cheverus in 1998.

In 2004 and 2005 two former students of the school told the headmaster of this Jesuit school that they had been sexually abused by two of their former teachers. In December 2009 and January 2010 two other boys contacted the headmaster and claimed the same about the same teachers. The headmaster decided to write a letter to all former students in which he stated that he was deeply sorry for what happened. After receiving the letter several others of the former students contacted the headmaster and said that they too had been abused.

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Wikipedia