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	Schools Should Not Be Part of Bankruptcy, Jesuits Say Catholic Sentinel February 25, 2009 http://www.sentinel.org/node/9854 Just as the ownership status of parish property became the main question in the Archdiocese of Portland bankruptcy, the Jesuits of the Oregon Province will face pressure over Northwest schools they founded. Both the archdiocese and the Jesuits were forced into bankruptcy by clergy sex abuse suits seeking multimillion-dollar sums. In both instances, the suits involve a relatively small number of priests who allegedly committed abuse decades ago. As part of its 2007 bankruptcy settlement, the archdiocese separately incorporated parishes, a step the Jesuits took with their schools as early as the 19th century. That, the Jesuits say, means school assets and property are not available to pay off lawsuits against the province.The Jesuits filed for bankruptcy protection last week, saying, like the archdiocese had, that the move is the only way to make sure there is money left to settle with all the accusers, not just the first few. The petition was filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Portland in response to 200 lawsuits filed recently against Jesuits of the province. The abuse claims are primarily from Alaskans who said they had been abused as children by priests. The Jesuits’ Oregon province, based in Portland, serves Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington. “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,” said Jesuit Father Patrick Lee, the provincial. “Chapter 11 will allow the Oregon Province to resolve pending claims, manage its financial situation, and continue its various ministries in the Northwest in which it has been engaged since 1841.” In 2007, the province announced a $50 million settlement with more than 100 native Alaskans for cases of sexual abuse involving more than a dozen Jesuits posted in Alaska between 1961 and 1987. Father Lee said he hoped the province’s bankruptcy filing “could begin to bring this sad chapter in our province’s history to an end.” Father Lee’s written statement noted the province has worked “diligently” to resolve claims of priest misconduct, saying it has settled more than 200 claims and paid more than $25 million to victims since 2001. That amount does not include payments made by insurers. “We continue to pray for all those who have been hurt by the actions of a few men, so that they can receive the healing and reconciliation that they deserve,” he added. In the bankruptcy petition, the Jesuits’ Oregon province listed assets of less than $5 million and liabilities of nearly $62 million. Ken Roosa, an attorney based in Anchorage, is handling most of the cases. It is Roosa who claims that the Jesuits should be counting institutions like Gonzaga University, Seattle University and Jesuit High School in its assets — the amount of money that could be divided up among priest accusers. The presidents of both Jesuit-run universities said their schools are completely separate from the province. Jesuit Father Robert Spitzer, president of Gonzaga, said that the Jesuits’ Oregon province is “a completely separate organization from Gonzaga University,” adding that the university’s “assets are its own and not subject to others’ creditors.” Gonzaga was separately incorporated in 1894. Jesuit Father Stephen Sundborg, president of Seattle University, said the university he runs is “an independent entity that is legally separate from the Oregon province of the Society of Jesus. The Society of Jesus does not own or operate Seattle University.” The schools are sponsored by the Jesuits, meaning they follow a Jesuit charism and mission. But they have independent governing boards that include laypeople. Some lawyers for accusers say the separation between the provinces and schools is “illusory.” In the diocesan bankruptcies, the issue of who owned the parishes — the archdiocese or the parishes themselves — has not been definitively settled in courts, though several bankruptcy judges sided with abuse claimants. Canon law holds that dioceses, if they are holding parish assets, are holding them in trust. Bishop William Skylstad of Spokane says he is “deeply saddened by reports of abuse of children by anyone, but especially abuse by priests.” Bishop Skylstad, the former president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, filed bankruptcy for his own diocese, a process that ended in 2007.
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