Oregon Province of Society of Jesus files for bankruptcy

Joshua Lynch
Issue: 2/19/09 Section: News

TUES., FEB. 17, 9:20 P.M.--The Oregon Province of the Society of Jesus filed for bankruptcy Tuesday in Portland Federal Bankruptcy Court.

The province--which includes Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Washington and Oregon--filed for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in response to a lawsuit in which 63 Native Alaskan victims have alleged they were sexually abused by Jesuits and that leaders of the province covered up the abuse.

More victims will join the lawsuit in the coming weeks, according to the plaintiff's lawyers.Fr. Patrick Lee, S.J., current provincial of the Oregon Province, did not respond to requests by The Spectator for comment but told the Fairbanks Newsminer, "Our decision to file Chapter 11 was not an easy one, but with approximately 200 additional claims pending or threatened, it is the only way we believe that all claimants can be offered a fair financial settlement within the limited resources of the Province."

Seattle University President Stephen Sundborg, S.J., was named as a defendant Jan. 14. in that lawsuit for allegedly covering up sexual abuse of minors when he was provincial of the Oregon Province from 1990 to 1996.

Sundborg did not respond to an e-mail requesting comment regarding the bankruptcy late Tuesday night.
Sundborg denies all of the allegations that have been made against him.

According to bankruptcy documents, the Society of Jesus has $4.8 million in assets and $61.7 in liabilities. The province paid $50 million in settlements in November 2007 in response to a previous sexual abuse lawsuit.

Patrick Wall, a representative of the victims, said the bankruptcy is an acknowledgement of the sexual abuse and its cover up.

"We believe that this is an affirmation that the Society of Jesus knowingly and purposefully dumped priest perpetrators in Alaska," Wall said.
"The data is overwhelming. Twenty-eight priests from 11 provinces in five countries resulted in over 300 Native Alaskan kids being sexually abused from 1948 to 2001."