List of Jesuit priests facing accusations of sexual abuse includes Marquette University, MUHS staff

"Marquette University High School fully supports the release of information of Jesuits of the Midwest Province with established allegations of sexual abuse of minors since 1955.The public release of these names is another reminder of a dark time in the Church's history. We join the Jesuit Midwest Province in offering our deepest apologies. It is time for transparency, reconciliation and healing. Our concern—first and foremost—are with the victim-survivors.

Marquette High takes any report alleging abuse with the utmost attention and seriousness. We deplore such behavior and have zero tolerance for it. The protection and safety of our students is our number one priority. Today, if Marquette High receives an abuse allegation by a minor, the school is mandated to immediately report to the appropriate authorities, including law enforcement and child protective services. The individual in question would be immediately placed on administrative leave pending a full investigation."

"Today the Midwest Province of the Jesuit order released a list of names of known clerical child sex offenders, including those who were working in Wisconsin.

The release of names today comes after months of revelations throughout the United States related to the ongoing crisis of clergy sex abuse and cover up by the hierarchy of the Catholic Church – including its religious orders – who have remained for too long the hidden dimension of this still unfolding story.

Today’s list is only a list of names. Those names were compiled by the organization that was responsible for both the abuse and the cover up of child sex crimes. This list does not supply even the most basic information such as the assignment history of the offender or the date the allegation was received.

With every new “name dump” that has been occurring throughout the United States, there has been evidence from justice officials and victims’ organizations that these lists are not complete. Now that this latest list has been released, the attorney general in each state where Jesuits have had offenders should vet these lists for the public. In states where attorneys general have already begun such investigations, such as Illinois, dozens of names have been determined to have been left off lists released by church officials.

More importantly, each name of an offender priest should be accompanied by its church file, which will reveal how that case was handled by church officials. Those names — the names of religious order provincials and bishops who covered up these crimes — are as essential to a full accounting of these crimes as is the name of the offender.

Among the worst evidence of abuse and cover up by the Wisconsin province concerns cases and files which were not released today related to Jesuit offenders in church run boarding schools in the Native American Pine and Rosebud reservations in South and North Dakota, the tribal lands of the Lakota Sioux.

It was a long-standing practice by the Jesuits to transfer or “dump” clerical sex offenders into “mission” territories inside of many of the major tribal communities throughout North America. In places where there has been the court ordered release of Jesuit files, such as in Alaska, this practice and clear pattern of human and civil rights violations, embody the most horrific and shameful episode of the entire sexual abuse crisis in the United States. Although several offenders working or transferred to these tribal territories are listed, there is no mention in today’s announcement or responsibility taken for this unconscionable practice, which remains today under a near complete veil of secrecy, neglect and darkness.

Native American survivors, including of Jesuit run institutions in South Dakota, have attempted to bring their cases to court but have been barred by state law and a wholly archaic statute of limitations there.  No federal investigation of these crimes has ever been commenced. There has simply been no justice for these survivors.

Given these facts, we believe that a full investigation by the Wisconsin Attorney General of the Wisconsin Province and the Federal US Attorney are especially urgent and required after today’s release. Such an investigation is the only path to justice."

"This list is comprised of the names of Jesuits against whom there is one or more established allegations of sexual abuse of a minor. These Jesuits are or were members of the USA Midwest Province of the Society of Jesus, or its predecessor entities, since 1955. This list also contains the names of Jesuits from other Jesuit provinces, who were in the Midwest Province at the time of the allegation.

The Midwest Province was formed in June 2017 from the former Chicago, Chicago-Detroit, Detroit, and Wisconsin provinces, and encompasses Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Wyoming. The Midwest Province currently has 510 Jesuit members; approximately 4,000 Jesuits have served in the province since 1955.

An established allegation is based on the facts and circumstances of each case wherein there is a reasonable certainty that the sexual abuse of a minor occurred. An established allegation leads to the Jesuit’s permanent removal from public ministry and possible criminal prosecution. The names on this list are based on a process of consultation and not a legal judgment.

This list is based on investigations that have been completed. Jesuits with allegations that are currently being investigated have not been included on this list. We have also retained an outside third-party investigation service, Hillard Heintze, to conduct an examination of our records to make sure that our disclosure of names is complete. When an allegation is deemed established, the list will be updated.

The list below is organized into three sections:

1) Contains the names of Jesuits against whom an established allegation of sexual abuse of a minor was made and investigated while the Jesuit was living or against whom multiple established allegations were received after his death. While an allegation received after a Jesuit is deceased does not provide the opportunity for the Jesuit to respond, multiple allegations against a Jesuit may indicate a corroborative pattern of abuse which support the conclusion of established allegations.

2) Contains the names of Jesuits against whom a single established allegation was received after his death. While any allegation received is investigated to the extent possible, an allegation received after a Jesuit is deceased does not provide the opportunity for the Jesuit to respond.

3) Contains the names of Jesuits whose names have been published on a diocesan website, another Jesuit province website, named in a civil lawsuit, named within a bankruptcy court process, and/or named in a grand jury report.

It is important to note that inclusion on this list does not necessarily mean that these allegations are true or correct or that the accused Jesuit has been found guilty of a crime or liable for any civil claim. Many of these allegations arise from events that occurred decades after the alleged abuse would have taken place, making it difficult to conduct a complete investigation. In addition, some of these allegations were made after an accused Jesuit died and therefore, he did not have the opportunity to respond for himself.

The Midwest Province encourages anyone who has been abused by a Jesuit to contact the appropriate civil authorities and also Marjorie O’Dea, Director of the Office of Safe Environment at 773-975-6876 or via mail to: 1010 N Hooker St., Chicago, IL 60642."