NEBRASKA
Courthouse News Service
TED WHEELER
April 7, 2017
OMAHA, Neb. (CN) – In a lawsuit against the Jesuit order and Catholic church, a woman who gave her child up for adoption decades ago claims the church ran a “for-profit adoption conspiracy scheme” that forced hundreds of unwed mothers to give up their infants.
In a strongly worded statement, the Jesuit order denied the allegations in Kathleen Chafin’s lawsuit.
“These allegations are false and it can prove that these allegations are false,” the Jesuit order said. “The Province did not ‘conspire’ with anyone and it did not ‘profit’ from the adoption of any infants, Ms. Chafin’s included. Indeed, many of the allegations in the complaint are known to be untrue and can be shown to be untrue.”
Chafin sued the Wisconsin Province of the Society of Jesus (also known as the Jesuit order) and the Catholic Archdiocese of Omaha on April 4 in Douglas County Court.
The Jesuit order was founded in 1534 by Ignatius of Loyola, and approved as an apostolic order in 1540 by Pope Paul III. Its members take vows of chastity and poverty and, later, obedience.
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