December 15, 2005

Veil of privilege or cover-up?

WASHINGTON
The Seattle Times

By Jonathan Martin and Peter Lewis
Seattle Times staff reporters

In the early 1990s, a Jesuit priest in Tacoma, facing allegations of fondling young women, met with his superior for spiritual counseling. The priest was soon sent for sexual-deviancy treatment and was put under strict oversight, but police were never called.

Over the next decade, the priest, the Rev. James Poole, would be accused of raping or molesting several girls. The Jesuits have paid about $1.6 million to settle two lawsuits and apologized for Poole's actions. And more civil lawsuits are pending.

What Poole told his superior, the Rev. Stephen Sundborg, and what Sundborg did or did not do with the information has taken on a larger significance for Jesuits nationwide.

Posted by kshaw at December 15, 2005 07:41 AM