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	For Sex Abuse Victims, Settlement Doesn't Mean Case Is over By Mary Beth Smetzer Fairbanks Daily News-Miner November 20, 2007 http://newsminer.com/2007/11/20/10010 For James Niksik of St. Michael, it's not about the money but the acknowledgment that he was sexually abused by a Catholic cleric as a child. "I tried telling my father when I was a kid, and he beat me," Niksik said. "He said I was lying about the people at the church. He said the church people don't do that, and he took it out on me." Niksik is one of 110 Alaska Natives who will share the recent $50 million settlement with the Society of Jesus, Oregon Province. The Fairbanks Catholic Diocese, co-defendants in the numerous child sexual abuse civil suits, has approximately 150 cases still pending against it. "We weren't believed as children, and it took this lawsuit for them to finally say that something did happen," said Niksik, a grant writer in the Bering Sea coast village in western Alaska. "(Bishop Donald Kettler) still has to acknowledge what went on like the Jesuits did. They have to follow the Jesuits' example." Peter Kobuk, also of St. Michael, said he, too, tried telling his parents, many priests and the late Bishop Michael Kaniecki about the sexual abuse by Joseph Lundowski, a brother and deacon. "They didn't want to talk about it. They said, 'It's in the past, let it be,' but it isn't in the past for me. It hurts," said Kobuk, who travels to Anchorage for counseling paid for by the diocese. The two men and Elsie Boudreau, who settled with the Jesuits and Diocese out of court in 2005, are just three of the many anonymous Jane, John, James, Jake, June and Jimmy Doe plaintiffs in the numerous clerical sexual abuse cases who have gone public. They spoke at an Anchorage press conference Monday evening and also will speak publicly about their long journey from childhood to adulthood without resolution in Portland, Ore., today. The Rev. John Whitney, who heads the Jesuit province, confirmed the Sunday announcement of the settlement. "My hope is that it can be the beginning of some real transformation," he said. "I hope that the lives of both the survivors and those not directly (abused) but affected can find a way home and some healing." Whitney said the province has incurred $22 million in settlements to date, which includes a $5 million portion of the Alaska settlement. The rest of the $50 million settlement is being taken care of by insurers. According to Whitney, the province is involved in 11 more lawsuits and some not yet filed but in discussion. The Oregon Province encompasses five states — Alaska, Oregon, Washington, Montana and Idaho — and is one of 94 Jesuit provinces worldwide. "I am saddened the diocese cannot solve its cases and hope that happens and they have a role in healing the church," he said. Whitney, whose almost entire six-year appointment has been taken up with sexual abuse litigation, calls what happened in Alaska a tragedy and will continue to work on reconciliation to find ways to bring healing to the whole church. Since the lawsuits began, both the Jesuits and diocese have been developing new policies and procedures to upgrade child safety. "Mistakes were certainly made by predecessors, but the allegation that Alaska is a dumping ground (for pedophile clergy), that simply is not true," Whitney said. "I think we didn't screen well enough. No one went there (Alaska) who didn't request it. A large number of men served there with distinction and honor and loved the people and sought to bring the good news," he said. Whitney plans to visit western Alaska in the spring to talk to people and apologize in person. For some, it is too late. Two years after her settlement, Boudreau, formerly a devout Catholic, has left the church. Boudreau calls the church's long silence "beyond corrupt." "They were more concerned about the image of the church rather than the people who have been hurt," she said. Boudreau, who works as an advocate for victims through the diocese, said a turning point in her life came when she was talking with another abuse victim and she decided in her mind and in her heart that she was no longer a Catholic. "As soon as I did that, a lot of guilt washed away. It was a very freeing moment," she said. Today, Boudreau believes in "ellum yua," a Yup'ik word that means "person of the universe." "We're a very spiritual people and have a lot of teachings — to be compassionate, to be kind, to share with others, respect our children and our elders. There is a lot of strength in that, and that is what we need to get back to. Not that you're born with a black mark on your soul and you're a sinner. We were born as a beautiful people," Boudreau said.
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