This morning, 43 Alaskan Natives filed a lawsuit against the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits), claiming a widespread conspiracy to dump pedophile priests in small Alaskan towns and shelter them from exposure.
The suit was filed in the Bethel, Alaska Superior Court.
Reverend Father Stephen Sundborg—current president of Seattle University and head of the Northwest Jesuits from 1990 to 1996—is named as a co-conspirator.
Attorney Ken Roosa announced the lawsuit at a chilly press conference outside Seattle University this morning and said, as of today, he knows of 345 cases of molestation, only two of them against non-natives.
The Jesuits, he said, sent known pedophiles to isolated Alaskan villages—many of them only accessible by boat or plane—to let them abuse children with impunity.
“It was a pedophile’s paradise,” Roosa said. “We are going to shine some light on a dark and dirty corner of the Jesuit order.”
Today, Roosa said, there are 17,000 Catholics in the diocese of Fairbanks—which filed for chapter 11 last year—and were even fewer during the peak of the abuse, from 1960 to 1975.
The rate of child molestation by priests in Alaska, he said, “is several orders of magnitude larger” than anywhere else in the United States. (Roosa compared this lawsuit to one in Los Angeles, with 550 cases of abuse and a Catholic population of 3.5 million.)
The diocese filed for bankruptcy protection in order to pay off settlements with Native Alaskans who were molested as children. (Roosa led that effort was well. This suit—against the Society of Jesus as a whole—is the latest battle in a long campaign Roosa has been waging against the opaque, secretive way the church responds to accusations of sexual abuse.)
Some members of the lawsuit spoke at the press conference, including Flo Kenny, a short woman with a steely gray ponytail and sunglasses.
“I am Flo Kenny,” she said slowly. “I am 74 years old. And I’ve kept silent for 60 years. I am here for all the ones who cannot speak—who are dead, who committed suicide, who are homeless, are drug addicts. There’s always been a time, an end of secrets. This is the time.”
She said her abuse started when she was 13 and depressed by the treatment she and other village children suffered from the nuns. “They managed us like wild ponies and beat us every day,” she said. “They said it was good for our character.”
She sought comfort from the village priest who began an abusive relationship that lasted several y ears. “The priest at that time took the role of the shaman and the tribal council, making the decisions,” she said. The priests held all the power in these remote towns and, according to the lawsuit, many of them were known sexual predators.
Another native, Rena Abouchuk, cried while she read a letter to her village priest: “You did so many evil things to young children… God will never forgive you.” Abouchuk said the priest raped and molested her and her cousins, often together in the same room, and offered to let them ring the church bell as a prize for complicity.
“You took a lot of lives,” she read aloud, crying and holding an eagle feather she’d been given at a “sobriety powwow” on New Year’s Eve. Six of her cousins, she said, have committed suicide because of that priest.
Abouchuk’s brother, wearing a black leather jacket and a blue bandanna, said the priest who abused him gave him a few quarters each time.
“My family was very, very poor at the time,” he said. “I tried to kill myself several times over this.” He became homeless, an alcoholic and drug addict, but has since become sober and lives with his sister in Spokane.
A former Benedictine monk, Patrick Wall, said 28 pedophiles from four countries were specifically sent to Alaska “to get them off the grid, where they could do the least amount of damage” to the church’s public image.
“The Catholic church has the largest body of documentation of non-incarcerated pedophiles in the world,” he said. “These guys should be sent to the Mayo clinic and studied to find out what makes them tick… they’re some of the weirdest characters you will ever meet.”
Three years ago, Roosa said, a former head of the Northwest Jesuits testified about the “hell files”—personnel files with information about priests that was “special,” “not public,” and “not good.” Sundborg allegedly would’ve had those files in his office when he was the head of the Northwest Jesuits. When Roosa tried to acquire those files from the Northwest Jesuits, he was told they didn’t exist.
Father Sundborg’s office has not yet returned requests for comment. But let’s revisit this story from 2006:
The president of Seattle University said Thursday he has no doubt that a Jesuit priest who taught at the school from about 1950 to 1976 sexually molested young boys.
But the Rev. Stephen Sundborg also said he believed that Seattle University bears no legal responsibility for the actions of Michael Toulouse, because any acts of sexual abuse he carried out occurred outside the scope of his official duties as a teacher at the school.
UPDATE
A statement from Rev. Father Sundborg:
The allegations brought against me are false. I firmly deny them. I want the victims and the entire community to know that. The complaint filed by the plaintiffs’ lawyers represents an unprincipled and irresponsible attack on my reputation. Let me be clear—my commitment to justice and reconciliation for all victims remains steadfast. The sexual abuse by Catholic priests is one of the most shameful episodes in the history of our church. I will continue to work toward the goal of bringing healing to all victims.
Thanks for the article on clergy abuse.
We have information on clergy abuse and ritual abuse at:
http://ritualabuse.us/research/clergy-ab…
http://ritualabuse.us/research/false-all…
Gosh, based on its reader comments, THE STRANGER sure is appropriately-named.
‘Dere be some wacky shit writ here y’all!
I’ve read Fr. Sundborg’s work at some length, and even met him once. ‘Sure seems like a noble individual from everything I can discern. Associating the allegations of abuse with SU is a real cheap shot by a scumbag lawyer who has convinced some poor natives that they can ‘cash in’…while HE gets 34%, of course!
…as if money would abate their ancestors’ pain.
I can only wonder how many more like me who were living in a strict Catholic Family .. The whole Ten Yards… They all had that MENTAL Attitude of sweeping everything under the rug as they lived it.. People were molested, My Uncle thought he was Jesus, Crazy Shit goes down.. And we all wake up like the GIANT PINK ELEPHANT ISN’T in the middle of the room. The Mentality of moving these Men and forgetting about it was also what they taught their Congregation to do …. OR FACE THE SHAME! Many A People they hurt.. My hearts go out to all of these people and these priests should pay..
All who are evil, gravitate towards the very root of all evil, Constsntines evil church, that claims that God forgives all sins. If the true church of Arius had only survived the Romans, this evil would not exist. God does not forgive pedophilia, nor do I. Pedophilia is an incurable disease that kills and maims children. Death to the Papist Pope and his evil minions.
Molestation of children has nothing to do with sex, it is an act of violence and domination. Celibacy and marriage have nothing to do with causing it. Neither does religion – there are similar reports of victimization of children by community leaders of all religions, including Buddhists.
The horror here is the complete lack of resource or escape these entire communities faced. I can’t even imaging the feeling of utter helplessness they must have gone through.
Well, now we can see the discovery of the “New World” and colonialism was really done to provide the ‘priests’ of Europe with a steady supply of fresh meat children to molest . . . and they are still doing it to this day.
This is all too tragic – do you know what happens to a city, a tribe, or a state when more than half of the children have been sexually molested? Given the long-term effects I’d say they are unfortunately going to be experiencing those effects for several hundred years – yes that’s how long it can take to heal because some of the way abuse affects personality can transmit for 5 or 6 generations before it returns to a baseline.
I don’t see how any catholic can say that the church as an institution still represents jesus or god with a straight face – when so many of its priests are living a double-life or a lie. I mean, exactly how does one do daily devotions to love, cherish, and serve the supposed source of all goodness and well-being in the universe, and then after lunch decide where to send the sexual predator priest to cover up his crimes knowing that by sending him to some small alaskan town probably all the kids there will be molested by him, and more than a few will commit suicide, some will in turn molest kids when they are adults, and the rest will merely be fucked up for life (unless they get treatment or otherwise figure out how to deal with it).
I mean, you couldn’t dream up a worse way to twist up and wound the human soul if you tried – and this is what the institution of the church stands for?
I mean if any of the priests of the catholic church had any real appreciation for what jesus is supposed to be about, they would dissolve the church, liquidate it’s wealth and set up a perpetual trust fund to support their victims and their children for the next 100 years, burn all their writings, and then commit mass suicide to make sure that never again would anyone on earth ever revive their tradition.
I suffered through Catholic school and encountered more than my share of odd Catholic characters including nuns, priests, and emotionally disturbed teachers. I suffered through the constant guilt of not quite doing things as well as “God” thought we should. It really sucked. But there are still priests/nuns that I recall fondly because of their kindness and true devotion to their calling. My 8th grade Algebra/Religion teacher was a priest with a keen intellect and kind personality. A family friend we still stay in touch with is an elderly Catholic nun with an amusing irreverent side and a genuine fondness and love for children. Children and other innocent people are victims to these criminals as well as true members of the clergy. Allowing married clergy members in would definitely be a step in the right direction. After reading Dan Savage enough I am almost convinced that the only truly safe option would be married, openly gay clergy.
This is also about the deep racism in the catholic church and wider white community. The church sent these pedophiles off to molest little native children, who they thought did not matter and were sub human.
Sundborg’s words, his denial can not be taken as fact. That isn’t good enough anymore. I hope that when this case goes ahead in the courts the judge will force those records, those “hell files” as they have been referred to, out into the Light of Turth and Justice. Sundborg was the Provincial of the Jesuits and he knew. It is as simple as that.
One of the earliest things he would have done in his role as Provincial would have been to make himself familiar with everything in those files. I don’t for a minute believe that he did not know. If he chose not to look at those files he is a fool and should never have been Provincial in the first place and he has no place running a university either.
Having gone to a Catholic grade school, a Jesuit high school, and a Jesuit university, I have a profound appreciation for the Jesuit order. Jesuits have traditionally been considered the most liberal and intellectual of Catholic orders – and my education was nothing short of excellent. I’ve always admired the Jesuits for their approach to living – they emphasize reflection, discernment, justice, and awareness of the connections between everything. The order has always been in trouble with the papacy for one reason or another; I know Jesuits who speak in support of gay rights, marriage in the priesthood, birth control, etc., etc. I’m extremely disturbed by this story. I’m honestly shocked. If the allegations are true, the biggest problem is at the top of the pyramid. This should not be a reflection on the entire Jesuit community.
@60 America is going bankrupt because of war, and the Jesuits because of rape. Good. And to all you liberals pointing out how progressive and good the Jesuits are, fuck you. These pigs send pedophiles to Alaska for a rape festival and you try to give them a pass with the word “liberal.”
America “liberals” are so fucking stupid and worthless and cowardly.
The northwest jesuits house some strange cats. Sundborg and all his predecessors never gave two hoots about kids being raped by jesuits. They were all on order from the Vatican to ignore the problem and protect the priests. At least now we can understand the way in which all kinds of evils have been allowed on our planet. Jesuits and all their religious cohorts have been performing religious ritual all over the world, and have the village secrets of the confessional. All this while the little ones were being destroyed. Men who facilitate the raping of children are worse than the perps themselves. And they get honored with prestigious titles. Jesus would have millstones around their necks.
Augusta Wynn
#44–As an SU Senior as well, I couldn’t agree more.
To the SU alum talking about SU being liberal–so? That is nice and all (and one of the reasons I also came to SU, but it is not Sundborg’s doing.)
This is some of the best shit I’ve read in a wile. How true most of it is. I too graduated SU
But I was in a bad accident right after graduation with a crack pipe and got way lost in a Tequila bottle.
Better than protecting child molesters and more honest than Fr. Steve’s attempt at a innocent statement too!
I’ve been following abuse cases for about seven years now and find this one most interesting. This one seams to be the one, that will open Pandora’s box all the way to the pope.
I can’t wait to see this judge force Fr Steve into telling the secrets he has been keeping to protect the good church.
Reputation is all he was worried about when he gave his statement. That scares the shark out of me. What is he honestly trying to say. Still believe in me as your CFO, or Principal. Trust is earned not given. Time to earn my trust Fr. Steve.
I think your guilty of hiding a secret. Your only as sick as your deepest secret. So spill the beans Steve. Get Honest!!!!
Good Day Sir and I use sir to be polite. You Enabler
[The Russian Orthodox] do not allow these weirdos in their communities.
Like no married men are pedophiles? Guess again.
Two factors drive pedophiles into the church: celibacy does not deter men who aren’t attracted to adult women — they may think their unattraction is a gift from god, in fact, and men who want to molest children seek positions of trust and authority over them.
As a kid, I read Edwin O’Connor’s The Edge of Sadness, about a recovering alcoholic priest who, once rehabilitated, was sent back to serve a poor parish. Later I wondered if alcoholism was actually code for the unspeakable pedophilia.
the jesuit order is the plague of humanity
If ya ask me, the Catholic Church is the way to go! You can do whatever you want, to whomever you want, and all you have to do is say a dozen “Hail Mary”s, a few laps around the Rosary and everythings cool with you & God… you’re going to Heaven! Before you hang me in effigy… I’m being sarcastic, if you didn’t catch it.
No, Augusta Wynn, Jesus would forgive them and help them heal their sick, twisted minds. We, on the other hand, can condemn them to our hearts’ content. Unfortunately for all the poor victims, our condemnation of the sick bastards doesn’t help them much. At least we can show them that SOMEONE cares about what happened to them.
If it were up to me, I would say screw the lawsuit… lets line up all the Jesuit pedophiles and let the victims ram large poles up the priest’s asses… show them how it feels to be violated. That would only cause trouble though so I guess the lawsuit is the next best thing… I just hate seeing a bunch of ambulance-chasing legal asswipes getting all the money they will be making. Lawyers don’t sue because of moral outrage… they sue to make their Escalade and Condo payments. They’re almost as bad as the priests!
Reparations should be in order. Somehow!! What a nightmare to be put upon these natives, even the part about the nuns
Sundborg certainly seems to have dodged a bullet during his tenure as leader of the northwest Jesuits. On Wednesday, 1/14/09, the Seattle University Spectator reported:
“Sundborg, who was the provincial for the Jesuits’ Oregon Province from 1990 to 1996, called the position the ‘greatest privilege’ of his life. He said he never dealt with a sexual abuse of a minor case during his time as provincial.”
http://media.www.su-spectator.com/media/…
On the other hand, almost five years ago, Rev. John D. Whitney, S.J. (Sundborg’s successor as provincial leader of the Jesuits) wrote this about the Oregon Province:
The John Jay College of Criminal Justice at City University of New York was
given the task of surveying the dioceses of the United States regarding the
number of credible allegations of clergy sexual abuse of minors received
from 1950 to 2002 against priests or deacons (non-ordained ministers and
seminarians were not part of the study)…
…..
Consequently, I have released these numbers to the Jesuits of the Province
and now release them to you, our companions. Though I will also release
these numbers publicly, when asked, it is important to me that their
publication begins with you and not with the media. And so here are the
statistics for the years 1950-2002:
* Number of priests and deacons in the Province: 662
* Number of priests or deacons accused of misconduct: 16
* Number of victims who made allegations: 32
* Amount of money expended: $2,522,848
http://www.nwjesuits.org/newsPub/Provinc…
It follows that if Sundborg “never dealt with a sexual abuse of a minor case,” as the Spectator reports, then none of the cases of misconduct listed above must have been reported from 1990-96, but were only reported from 1950-1989, and then started up again from 1997-2002. How convenient!
i know some Jehovah’s Wittnesses who a member of their church molested their daughter. he was sort of like a deacon or something. They went to the man incharge and told him. He had the guy kicked out of the church then went with the parents and girl to help them report it to the cops. People may hate this group of christians, but at least they know how to deal with molestors. they get rid of them and report them to the cops.
a;lot of bad people prey on native kids and women. they come in all colors. they come to the resorvations to take rape and murder. and they walk away scot free because the goverment will not alow the native goverments to prosicute them. The goverment won’t do anything to these parasites because the victums are Natives and they do not care.
I am of mixed blood. Why? because goverment sponsered cowards called indian fighters raped one of my grate grate grandmothers. These good Christians attacked women and chidlren. She was only 12 she tried to fight them by kicking at them. they held her legs propted on a log and laid a rifle across then and one jumped on it and broke her legs so she could not fight. when they were done they scalped her and left her and the others for dead.
she lived to see her daughter born and died a day later.
That was in 1810. The goverment is still trying to kill us off. And they have used their religous whores to do it in some of the vicious ways imaginable.
The thing the catholics call their holy mother is really just a filthy whore. and so are her clergy. that is the bottom line.
I know there is abuse in the Catholic Church and most other churches as well as in most organizations that involve children. I have actually encountered it in a parish in Dallas that I lived in. However, I also have evidence that things are not quite squeeky clean on the other side and there is a serious risk of psychologically dysfunctional people cooking up stories of abuse. For example, just recently I encountered a story on the Internet by some person who claimed to have been at a Church run boarding school at the same time as I attended back in the late 1960s. He described horrific sexual abuse and wide spread sexually degenerate behavior by students and priests. I was first surprised when I couldn’t actually remember any student by his name at the school at that time and checked the rosters and no such person attended. I also know that the school was a VERY happy and healthy environment and other than a few kids getting up to a few teenage sexual indiscretions which is not really surprising or shocking for a bunch of teenage boys, there was not a whisper or a hint of such sexual deviancy at the school. This guy even described in detail how he was abused in the communal showers….There were no communal showers!!! All the showers were enclosed cubicles. Also we were given strict instuctions about dressing and undressing in changing rooms in a modest and respectful manner. I never encountered a single incident like he described and I am fairly sure his story was a pack of concocted lies. Motive….who knows? But I have a strong suspicion that this guy was being swept along by the hysteria against the Catholic Church in the media and the Internet And while I sympathize with victims who stuggled so much because no one would listen to them, we can’t become naive and assume that just because someone tells you something that it must be true. You don’t even know whether my story here is true!!!!
Scottie: Molestation of children …..is an act of violence and domination. Celibacy and marriage have nothing to do with causing it. Neither does religion – there are similar reports of victimization of children by community leaders of all religions, including Buddhists.
David0042 replies: This is very true. I have just finished reading about the Juvenile Justice system in the US. Outside of the “family” which is the biggest institution responsible for child abuse, the Juvenile Justice System in the US is estimated to be a close second which leaves the Catholic Church in the dust when it comes to child abuse. The real problem in the US is that if you are kid with the terms “black, poor and criminal record” associated with your name, then God help you, because very few people in middle class white America will and if you are 12 years old and get raped, then you must have done something deserve it. It is incredibly sad what goes on in this country right under our noses and we do nothing to stop it, and then we turn round and start to scream at the head of some Jesuit University since that makes us feel better. We live in a seriously sick society.