GU says it’s immune from Jesuit bankruptcy

The victims of pedophile Jesuit priests in the Northwest may eye the riches of Gonzaga University and other religiously affiliated organizations for compensation in the wake of the religious order’s bankruptcy filing this week. But it’s an idea that Gonzaga officials dismissed Wednesday. The Spokane-based university, along with Seattle University and Gonzaga Prep, will not be ensnared by the Chapter 11 bankruptcy of the Oregon Society of Jesus, a Catholic religious order spanning five Northwest states. “Gonzaga was separately incorporated and registered with the Secretary of State in Washington in 1894,” university president the Rev. Robert Spitzer wrote to supporters. “Gonzaga University’s assets are its own and not subject to others’ creditors.” The school, with a total enrollment of 7,211 students, has an annual operating budget of $190 million. The campus, with 96 buildings, stretches across 131 acres near downtown. It is supported by an endowment that has been hard-hit by the recession and stock market plunge, falling from $153 million in May 2008 to $112 million by the end of December. In their bankruptcy filing in Portland, the Jesuits contend they only have assets of $4.8 million. Listed liabilities totaled $61.8 million. Ken Roosa, an Anchorage attorney representing more than 60 Alaska Natives who claim they were sexually abused as children by Jesuits, said the Jesuit leadership is vastly underestimating its assets. He told the Associated Press the province owns Seattle and Gonzaga universities, as well as several high schools. Gonzaga Prep also is considered a Jesuit school. Al Falkner, president of the Spokane school, sought to assure parents and supporters that the bankruptcy would not have an effect. The school separated from Gonzaga University in 1954. It receives no money from the Portland-based province nor does it pay money to the province, Falkner wrote. Jesuit teacher salaries are paid by the school, he added. Bankruptcy offers the Jesuits the ability to fully grasp the order’s financial exposure to clergy sex abuse. The federal judge overseeing the case will establish a deadline for victims to file claims. This so-called “bar date” is normally set after advertising campaigns and other search methods to find victims. Once the deadline passes the Jesuits will know the number of victims and can then attempt to craft some sort of cash settlement. There’s a chance that the number of victims will mushroom. That’s what happened in the bankruptcy case of the Catholic Diocese of Spokane that ended two years ago. “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 the Very Rev. Patrick Lee, head of the province. The Jesuits have already settled 200 sex abuse claims. Among them were 110 Alaska Natives, who settled for $50 million last year. About $45 million of that was paid by insurers. Since those filings, another 63 Alaska Natives have filed suit, with more claims pending. The victims and their attorneys have alleged that the Jesuits used Alaska as dumping ground for pedophile priests. At least one of those priests, James Poole, is housed by the Jesuits in Spokane. Spokane Catholic Bishop William Skylstad has identified 12 Jesuit priests that have been credibly accused of sexually abusing children in his diocese. Most are deceased, but several are still alive and maintain residence in the city. John Allison, a Spokane attorney who represented 16 former St. Mary’s Mission students who were sexually abused by Jesuits and reached settlements, said there will be many more people who come forward. He represents about 15 former students from the missionary school in Omak and called their recollections of sexual abuse and damaged lives a terrible episode that must be corrected. “The Jesuits have a long and rich history in the Northwest and there are many who reached the highest virtues of their calling,” said Allison, a Gonzaga law school graduate. “But there also has been great harm done to very vulnerable people, both by bad priests, and the failure of their leaders to take action when the problem was plainly known or knowable.” Jesuit officials declined to answer questions and referred reporters to prepared statements. Among the unknowns is how much more money can be wrung from insurers, who have paid tens of millions in settlements. The statement did offer an apology: “Our hope is that by filing Chapter 11, we can begin to bring this sad chapter in our Province’s history to an end. 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.”