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	Jesuits Settle for $166 Million in Clergy Abuse Cases NWCN March 25, 2011 http://www.nwcn.com/home/?fId=118660869&fPath=/news/local&fDomain=10222 The Society of Jesus, Oregon, has agreed to pay $166 million to settle the claims of hundreds of victims of clergy sexual abuse. The claims span a 30-year period, from the 1950s to the 1980s. They include victims across a five-state region, including Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Alaska. Most victims still live in the region. The settlement of more than 500 individual claims, the result of over a year of negotiations, is believed to be the single-largest, clergy sex-abuse bankruptcy settlement in the United States. While a number of Catholic Dioceses have filed for bankruptcy, including the Spokane Diocese, the Jesuits are the first religious order to see bankruptcy protection. A steering committee of seven victims and their attorneys began negotiating with the Jesuits several months ago. The same committee will recommend to all claimants that the offer be accepted. Under the terms of the proposed settlement agreement, approximately 70% of the payout will come from insurance assets. The remaining 30% will be paid directly by the Oregon Province. Filed in February 2009, the case revealed a shocking number of abuse victims on Native American reservations in Washington, Idaho, and Montana, where the Jesuits ran boarding schools until the mid-1970s. Other Jesuit abusers sought refuge at college campuses. A number of boys have accused the late Reverend John Leary, a former president of Gonzaga University, of sexually abusing them during his tenure at the school. Meanwhile, other claimants alleged that after he was accused of molesting a young boy in Spokane, Jesuit officials secretly moved a popular and charismatic priest, Reverend Michael T. Toulouse, To Seattle University. Although the bankruptcy court has lifted a confidentiality order on the tentative settlement, it will likely take several months before the Jesuits being to compensate victims. The settlement must first be approved by a sufficient majority of individual claimants, and then by the bankruptcy court. The settlement agreement will resolve claims against the Oregon Province, but it does not end claims against other Jesuit institutions that chose not to participate in the settlement negotiations. For example, Jesuit colleges Gonzaga University and Seattle University refused to participate because they claimed their assets were separate from the Oregon Province, even though both schools are operated by the Jesuits. After the settlement, both colleges will still face claims and lawsuits, including a trial involving eight boys molested by Father Michael Toulouse.
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