FAIRBANKS (AK)
KTUU
Tuesday, February 1, 2005 - by Megan Baldino
Fairbanks, Alaska - Dozens of men claim that a deacon or lay volunteer sexually abused and raped them for years in western Alaska villages.
The Diocese of Fairbanks has responded to the allegations, but in doing so, Bishop Donald Kettler may raise more questions than answers about what may have happened to these young boys years ago.
As wave upon wave of accusations pound the Catholic Church in Alaska, nightmares of sexual abuse churn in the minds of men from Stebbins, St. Michael and Hooper Bay. After years of silence, the tide has turned. They are ready to speak out against Joseph Lundowksi.
Peter Kobuk is one of 33 men suing the Northern Bishop of Alaska, the Oregon Province of Jesuits and the Society of Jesus - Alaska.
“I only told a Catholic because I wanted a Catholic to fix it themselves and come forward themselves and say, yes, Joseph Lundowski was molester,” says Peter Kobuk, who is James Doe 18 in the lawsuit.