Category:Alaska Dioceses
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Alaska Dioceses
Note : Between the Dioceses of Juneau and Fairbanks, at least 13 victims were counted in the national survey, which examined cases from 1950 to 2002, reported February 2004.
Alaska abuse Most of the abuse in Alaska occurred in remote villages, and most of the alleged victims were Alaska Natives. Patrick Wall, a former Benedictine priest and consultant for a Costa Mesa, Calif., law firm that has worked on more than 300 church abuse allegations nationwide, said rural Alaska was a prime place to send abusive priests, because of its isolation and because its cultural reverence for authority figures, such as elders and priests, meant parishioners would be less likely to speak up.
Jacobson affair James Jacobson, a Jesuit priest, fathered two children during his stay in remote Alaskan communities. DNA tests proved he was the father and now those sons are seeking child support from the man who never acknowledged what he did or who they were, reported February 2007.
Archdiocese of Anchorage
Archdiocese of Anchorage Archdiocese founded in 1966, includes the Kenai Peninsula.
Archdiocese of Anchorage abuse One priest had been accused of sexual abuse up to February 2003 (NYT survey). A three-person commission formed by Archbishop Roger Schwietz went through records of 84 priests and revealed in October 2003 that 16 priests had allegations against them, seven of them against children. National Report stated two priests, one in Alaska and one prior to his arrival, have fathered children. Another was involved with a 17-year-old girl and some accused priests were prevented from returning to the ministry even after lengthy treatment. Archdiocese refused to name the priests involved in the 11 remaining anonymous cases.
Archdiocese of Anchorage settlements Archdiocese of Anchorage has put up residential property for sale to cover settlements in priest abuse lawsuits. The archdiocese must pay about $760,000 to cover its share of settlements in three lawsuits.
(alphabetical listing)
[16 offenders identified, 7 listed]
Anon priest Anchorage man aged 85, angered that Catholic Church officials in Anchorage failed to grant the same honors to the victims of an abusive priest as were recently given to the priest himself, staged a public protest 23 April 2003 in which he revealed his own sexual exploitation by an itinerant priest ## Bester affair Rev. Robert Bester Anchorage man accused hum of asking him for sexual favors. The archdiocese settled.
Crowley affair Rev. Timothy M. Crowley accused of abuse of boy, age 11. Removed 2002. Also allegations of abuse in Lansing, MI
McMuldren affair Brother John McMuldren, who belonged to The Brothers of the Holy Cross, was the only nonpriest identified in the National Audit report. McMuldren went to Alaska to run the archdiocese's Catholic camp in Soldotna, St. Theresa's, in 1979. In 1995, three brothers who attended the camp said they were sexually abused there 10 years earlier. McMuldren denied any wrongdoing, and in 1996, Archbishop Francis Hurley declared him innocent. McMuldren is now a high school counselor in Tyler, Texas.
Murphy affair Rev. Francis A. Murphy (Frank Murphy), the subject of a series of newspaper articles by the Anchorage Daily News, had an extraordinarily graphic catalogue of allegations of adult sexual abuse gathered by police in Anchorage of which the Archdiocese of Anchorage, was fully aware. Anchorage High School principal Pat Podvin’s report of the abuse to the church was ignored. Murphy is reported to have more than one credible allegation against him in Alaska. He was transferred from Alaska to the Archdiocese of Boston in 1985 where he rose to be a Monsignor. He only served as a priest in the Diocese of Gallup, NM, for a very brief time and no allegations were brought against him since he moved there. Last reported to be a resident of Cuba, NM. The archdiocese settlement involved five victims.
Poole affair Rev. James Poole, Jesuit, admitted sexual misconduct against both girls and women during his decades-long tenure in northern Alaska.
- Tacoma transfer Rev. John Whitney, provincial superior for Jesuits in Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Idaho and Montana, said the Catholic Church was aware of Poole’s inappropriate conduct with women before transferring him to Tacoma in June 1989. Poole was a chaplain at St. Joseph's Hospital in Tacoma in 1993 when he first was accused of sexually abusing children and removed from ministry. “There was some misconduct in various situations,” said Whitney. “We have settled two cases against him. There are two outstanding cases against him in Alaska.” Poole has not been charged with any crimes, but the Catholic Church has paid out a lot more than $1 million in settlements stemming from his troubles in Alaska. Poole in his 80s, lives in an assisted-living facility for Jesuits near Gonzaga University in Spokane under strict supervision
- Jane Doe IV Victim claims Poole sexually abused her when she was seven years old (1968 or 1969). Poole told her that they were going to “play doctor” after catechism class. Poole attempted to touch her before she got scared and insisted on going into another room. “She's the first one to tell us that he used catechism to access children. He taught catechism for a long time in several places. I suspect that there are a number of other women who were molested as children by Father Poole when they were in catechism.”
- Boudreau accusation Elsie Boudreau said she was only 10 when James Poole started abusing her, which ended when she was 19 after “I wrote a letter to him and told him I never wanted to be alone with him....He admitted everything.” Boudreau molested her in two Alaska cities starting in the late 1970s. Boudreau won a $1 million settlement after filing a lawsuit for alleged abuse, 2005.
Wells affair Rev. Robert Wells (d. 1992) was named as the abuser of a female minor, starting when she was 8 or 9 and continuing for eight years, while he was assigned to Our Lady of the Angels parish in Kenai Peninsula from 1974 to 1988, when he moved to Sacred Heart Parish, Seward, between 1988 and 1990. The archdiocese settled.
Diocese of Fairbanks
Diocese of Fairbanks Serves 41 parishes spread out over more than 400,000 square miles covering Alaska's Interior, the North Slope and the western coast which stretches north from the Alaska Range to the Arctic Ocean, bounded on the east by the Canadian border and on the west by the Bering Sea.
Diocese of Fairbanks abuse 59 people claimed to have been abused by 5 priests in the diocese of Fairbanks, January 2005.
(alphabetical listing)
[5 offenders identified, 2 listed]
Anon priest I Unnamed diocesan priest (deceased) accused of abuse, but bishop would not release name.
Anon priest II Unnamed diocesan priest accused of abuse, but bishop would not release name.
Diocese of Juneau
Diocese of Juneau Two priests in the diocese had been accused of sexual abuse up to February 2003 (NYT survey).
(alphabetical listing)
[2 offenders identified, 2 listed]
Gutierrez affair Rev. Javier Gutierrez, Christian Brother, accused of abuse, 2004.
Nash affair Rev. Michael Patrick Nash of Juneau’s Cathedral of the Nativity was accused in November 2002 of raping former parishioner Joel Post from age 11 to 15 while on church youth group trips with the priest, early 1980s. Removed 2004. The diocese decided that Joel Post had “suffered grave harm at the hands of Mr. Nash” and agreed to pay him $175,740 to settle his claims. After the allegations became public, a number of other men came forward and made similar claims. Nash reached a settlement with the Diocese of Juneau in which he requested to be relieved of his priestly vows and obligations. It was this request that the Vatican accepted in November 2005. Nash then went on to be a lawyer.
Note Creighton Law School graduate Nash was denied admission to Iowa's bar in 2006 went before Iowa's high court for his right to practice law in the state, 30 August 2007. Iowa Supreme Court wrote, “Upon our de novo review, we find Post's allegations are not supported in the record,” and the Court concluded that “Nash has satisfied his burden to demonstrate his good moral character and fitness to practice law.” 21 September 2007.
- Post accusation Joel Post accused Nash of sexual abuse between 1979 and 1982, and the Diocese of Juneau reached a $175,000 settlement with Post, April 2004.
- Nash defamation case Nash brought suit against Post for defamation. “My sole purpose was to clear my name of his horrific allegations of abuse. To my utter astonishment, the Juneau Diocese responded by threatening me with excommunication if I didn't drop my suit. When I did not, the diocese participated in, and paid for, Post's defense.... In October 2006, in an effort to put all this behind me and - more importantly - to help heal the Diocese, I reached a settlement with the Diocese. As part of this settlement, I dropped my lawsuit against Post, and Bishop Warfel issued the following statement dated Oct. 17, 2006:
“On behalf of the Catholic Diocese of Juneau, Alaska, I hereby certify that Michael Patrick Nash, formerly a priest of this Diocese, has never been found guilty in any ecclesiastical process to have committed any sexual assault upon Joel Post. Mr. Post alleged that Mr. Nash had committed such assaults of many occasions between 1979 and 1982, but Mr. Nash responded by producing documentary evidence of unquestioned authenticity and authority that directly contradicted important details of Mr. Post's allegations. I then determined, in accordance with canon law, and upon the advice of the Diocesan Review Board for the Protection of Children and Young People, that the truth of these allegations was insufficiently probable for me to submit them to the Holy See. Furthermore, the Catholic Diocese of Juneau, Alaska, does not oppose the admission of Mr. Nash to the practice of law. Nor do I oppose such admission to the practice of law personally.”
Note The diocese only certified that Nash has “never been found guilty in any ecclesiastical process to have committed any sexual assault upon Joel Post.”
Jesuit Alaska Abuse
Jesuit Alaska abuse Number of individuals named in lawsuits against the Diocese of Fairbanks and the Oregon Province of the Society of Jesus tally to 14, includes 12 Jesuits and two Catholic volunteers.
Oregon Province of the Society of Jesus Covers Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Alaska.
- Oregon Province settlements Rev. John Whitney, provincial supervisor of the Oregon Province of the Society of Jesus said the Jesuits have spent $8.5 million to settle more than 25 cases of alleged abuse in the four years that he has led the province. An additional 40 or so cases are under investigation. Most of the cases occurred in the mid-1980s, 2006.
- Oregon Province lawsuits More than 100 abuse cases in the
Oregon Province pending, the majority of those are in Alaska.
(alphabetical listing)
[14 offenders identified, 11 listed]
Anon Jesuit volunteer 50 cases involving an Alaskan man who volunteered with the Jesuits but was never a priest.
Convert case Rev. Jules Convert (1910-1995), a French-born Jesuit priest who ministered in villages along the Yukon River from 1945 until 1978, died in 1995 in France, worked in the villages of St. Marys, Unalakleet, Holy Cross and Kaltag, was accused of sexually molesting 6 altar boys at the Church of the Nativity in St. Marys, a Yukon River village about 100 miles northwest of Bethel, during separate overnight stays at his house various times during the 1970s. They sued the Diocese of Fairbanks and the Society of Jesus, Oregon Province, which provided Jesuit priests to the diocese, filed in Bethel 19 June 2003. 1. Convert settlement Reached soon thereafter: “Jules Convert used his Roman collar, a symbol of faith and devotion to Jesus, as a ‘free pass’ to sexually violate innocent children. Nothing can take away the pain these men have suffered as a result of their abuse at the hands of their village priest. We hope that this part of the settlement will help the victims to rebuild their lives.” The number of complainants against Convert steadily increased since June 2003, reaching 18 former altar boys in November 2004.
Donohue affair In Fairbanks, two men identified as Jimmy Doe 1 and 2, allege the Rev. Norman Donohue, a Jesuit priest, sexually abused them and other male children when he was resident pastor in Kaltag and Nulato. Donohue died in 1983 at age 75.
Jacobson affair James E. Jacobson, Jesuit priest, sexually assaulted two women in different Western Alaska villages who became pregnant and gave birth to his sons. DNA tests, taken in August 2005, prove beyond a doubt that Jacobson is the biological father of both men. Jacobson, who retired as a prison chaplain in Oregon and resides at Regis Jesuit House at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash., served from 1963 to 1976 in a number of Yupik Eskimo villages in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region. The lawsuit against Diocese of Fairbanks, and the Jesuits of the Oregon Province and Alaska alleges that the mother of John A. Doe (deceased), was sexually assaulted by Jacobson in December 1965, in the priest's quarters in a Yupik village. As a result, she became pregnant and gave birth to John A. Doe in August 1966, filed 13 October 2005.
Jakes affair In Bethel Superior Court, Jenny Does 1 through 3 filed suit claiming they were sexually abused as children by Jesuit brother Ignatius J. Jakes, an Inupiat Eskimo. Jakes died in 1999 at age 75.
Laudwein affair Rev. James Laudwein (1930-), a Jesuit accused of molesting a 14-year-old Western Alaska girl in 1980 when she visited the nearby Yup'ik Eskimo village of St. Marys, some 500 miles southwest of Fairbanks, sued 20 October 2005. Laudwein also fathered a child in Alaska. Laudwein still ministers in Portland, Ore., mainly working with the poor 2005.
- Jana Doe accusation Girl was sexually abused by Laudwein in the confessional in St. Marys School chapel, on the campus of St. Mary's Boarding School. Laudwein agreed to hear the girl's confession, then took her to a dark room and said “her sins would be forgiven” if she touched his genitals.
- St. Marys School Catholic mission boarding school in Western Alaska, Rev. James Laudwein was the administrator, closed in 1987.
Llorente affair Rev. Segundo Llorente (deceased), a popular Jesuit priest, the US's first Roman Catholic priest to serve in a state Legislature, who served in Western Alaska villages during the 1950s and 1960s, followed by his successor Rev. Francis Nawn (deceased), were accused of sexual abuse by Jack Doe 1, a member of St. Peter's Catholic Church in Sheldon's Point, now known as Nunam Iqua. He claims that he and others were sexually abused as children by both priests. Llorente molested him four times in 1956 and 1957, when he was 6 and 7 years old. He also accuses the Rev. Francis Nawn of abusing him at least five times when he was a teenager.Named as defendants are the Catholic Bishop of Northern Alaska and the Society of Jesus, Oregon Province; and the Society of Jesus, Alaska. Lawsuit filed in Bethel Superior Court 28 December 2004.
Lundowski affair Joseph C. Lundowski (1918-d.?), a former Trappist monk, in an association with the Diocese of Fairbanks began during the 1950s at Holy Rosary Mission School in Dillingham where he was in charge of the boys' dormitory under the direction of the Rev. George S. Endal, a Jesuit priest, and superior of the mission school. Over the ensuing years, he also served in Western Alaska villages in Nulato, Stebbins, St. Michael and Hooper Bay, conducting services, teaching catechism and distributing Communion. Lundowski was accused by 28 men of abusing their trust as deacon and religious instructor, having bought sexual favors from them with candy, better grades, sacramental wine and coins from collection plates and engaged them in sexual misconduct, including being forcibly sodomized and required to perform oral sex or masturbation on Lundowski from 1965 to 1975, when the victims ranged in age from 6 to 24, with most of them in their adolescence. Lundowski was forced from Alaska by church authorities in 1975. Lawsuit seeks monetary damages from the Diocese of Fairbanks and the Jesuit province in Oregon, which has a historical affiliation with the Fairbanks diocese, filed in Bethel 12 November 2004.
McCaffrey affair Rev. Richard L. McCaffrey, a Jesuit priest, pastor of Immaculate Conception Church in Fairbanks, was accused by three people who claim they were molested in the 1970s and early 1980s. He was named publicly and put on administrative leave by Bishop Donald Kettler, head of the Diocese of Fairbanks, in response to a different allegation that McCaffrey sexually abused a minor about 25 years earlier, May 2005. Removed from ministry in Fairbanks, 23 August 2005. McCaffrey denies all allegations leveled against him.
- June Doe lawsuit Woman raised in Tununak, a village on Nelson Island, filed a civil lawsuit in Bethel Superior Court under the name June Doe, naming the Rev. Richard L. McCaffrey as the molester, saying he molested her several times 1978-79 when she was 10-11 years old. “During this molestation, Father McCaffrey would tell the plaintiff that their actions were ‘pure,’ like those acts of Adam and Eve, in order to make plaintiff believe that this molestation was normal.” She has suffered great pain, humiliation, spiritual theft, lost of trust in priests and other troubles, 9 August 2005.
Nawn affair Jesuit Rev. Francis X. Nawn (deceased) was accused of sexual abuse (along with Joseph Lundowski) by Jack Doe 1, a member of St. Peter's Catholic Church in Sheldon's Point (now, Nunam Iqua). He claims that he and others were sexually abused as children by both priests. Named as defendants are the Catholic Bishop of Northern Alaska and the Society of Jesus, Oregon Province; and the Society of Jesus, Alaska. Lawsuit filed in Bethel December 2004. Three more men have stepped forward with allegations of sexual abuse against Nawn.
Poole affair (Western Alaska's Hippest DJ.) Rev. Jim Poole (1924-), pastor at St. Joseph's during the 22 years he lived in Nome, a Jesuit priest and founder of Catholic radio station KNOM in Nome, was accused by three women of sexual abuse. One alleges that he impregnated her when she was 14-years-old, then encouraged her to have an abortion and blame her father.
- Hess accusation Patricia Hess, a teenager living in Nome, had been sexually molested by the Jim Poole more than 100 times 1978-1984, starting when she was 10 years old. Hess said she saw Poole's face on television and memories started flooding back.
- Jane Doe 1 Elsie Boudreau accused Poole of kissing, touching and fondling her from the age of 10 to 19, mostly in Nome where Poole ministered and ran radio station KNOM. She filed suit in March 2004.
