Donald McGuire

All Things Considered, October 29, 2007 ·

Donald McGuire sexually abused two teenaged boys in the 1960s.

That much is public record: He was convicted in a criminal trial last year.


As recently as nine weeks ago, Jesuit leaders insisted that they had no knowledge of any other abuse by the renowned priest.

But documents show that over the past 38 years, Jesuit leaders were alerted many times about McGuire's behavior — even as criminal and civil cases were under way.

That raises the question: What happened to those records?

"They either destroyed documents relevant to criminal activity, or they lied," said Marc Pearlman, an attorney for several plaintiffs.

Pearlman has obtained copies of 25 documents from families of alleged victims, which he gave to NPR.

They indicate that McGuire had sexual relationships with at least seven teenage boys between 1969 and 2004 (three others have since been identified). The documents include letters from family members to top Jesuit leaders, as well as letters from Jesuit leaders discussing the problem.

Pearlman said because the Jesuits failed to act after the first report, a sexual predator had free access to young men for nearly 40 years.
Edward Schmidt, the provincial, or leader, of the Jesuits in Chicago, said they were not protecting McGuire.

"We were treating him as a member of the Jesuit order," he said in a phone interview. "We were proceeding as though he were a good person, you know, until we became aware of some of these issues that have now become public. Were we trying to protect him from authorities? Not in any way."

First Signs of Trouble

Until very recently, Donald McGuire was one of the most prominent Jesuits of his day. In 1983, he became the spiritual director of Mother Teresa's organization and her confessor. He led Ignatian retreats, calling people to an intimate relationship with God.

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