Jesuit Order Settles 3 Sex Assault Suits

Chicago Tribune
October 22, 2005

The Jesuit religious order has settled three lawsuits with plaintiffs who accused priests of molesting them while they were students at Jesuit schools more than 30 years ago.

Two of the suits, for which settlements were reached in the last month, alleged that Rev.

John Powell, a priest and retired Loyola University professor, sexually abused seven women in the 1960s and early '70s. The suits also alleged that the order knew of the abuse but failed to act. Six women settled; negotiations continue with the remaining accuser.

In the third case, also settled in the last month, a 57-year-old man accused the late Rev. Wilton Skiffington, a former English and religion teacher and counselor at Loyola Academy, of repeatedly abusing him when he was an upperclassman at Loyola.

Two suits against Rev. Donald McGuire, a former counselor at Loyola Academy, have been put on hold while McGuire faces criminal charges in Wisconsin, where he is accused of molesting students on field trips.

Jesuits and plaintiffs' attorneys would not disclose settlement terms without their clients' permission.