Editorial note: This episode is now available to watch in full online at PBS’ Frontline portal.
Frontline’s next exposé focuses on the “decades of abuse of Native Americans by priests and other church workers in Alaska,” and in one particular town they find, “nearly 80% of the town’s children were molested” by Catholic priests.
As we reported on this story just a few weeks ago, the Roman Catholic Church, as part of ongoing lawsuits, will make payments to approximately 700 male and female sexual and psychological abuse, molestation, and rape victims who were living in Alaska Native villages and Indian reservations from Montana to Washington, Idaho and Oregon, and who were “sexually or psychologically abused as children by Jesuit missionaries in those states in the 1940s through the 1990s,” according to a statement by attorneys.
The latest agreement will financially compensate 524 victims with $166.1 million in cases including accusations against 140 Jesuit priests, brothers, and nuns from the Oregon Province of the Society of Jesus, in the Pacific Northwest. Only $48 million will come from the Catholic Church, the remainder will be paid by its insurance companies.
None of the Jesuit priests are being charged with any crime related to this abuse, rape, and molestation settlement.
The settlement comes through bankruptcy proceedings and is the largest by a religious order in the United States.
“Through candid interviews with survivors, this FRONTLINE report focuses on the abuse by a number of men who worked for the Church along Alaska’s far west coast in the late 1960s and early 1970s,” according to a Frontline press release. “All told, they would leave behind a trail of hundreds of claims of abuse, making this one of the hardest hit regions in the country. As part of FRONTLINE’s new magazine program, The Silence airs as the lead segment on Tuesday, April 19, 2011, at 9 P.M. ET on PBS.”
Here’s a video clip:
Watch the full episode. See more FRONTLINE.
{ 8 comments }
What else is new. A fact not often illuminated is that one of the reasons Martin Luther turned against the Catholic Church was because of the pederasty he found on his first visit to Rome. It stunned and staggered and disgusted him. Turned him against the Church. When will people learn?
That may be true but you have to recognize that our native communities did not invite the catholic church (or any other christian missionaries) into our communities that was forced upon us and often with the blessing (or under the direction) of the U.S. government. So it wasn't our blind faith in the church that exposed our granparents, aunties and uncles to these horrors, we would have happily kept our own spiritual ways without the outside influences!
As priest and victim of clergy sexual abuse my heart goes out to the residents of St. Michael, Alaska, and all other victims. I watched the program last night and my heart is heavy with pain.. For those readers who do not know a victim please click on the following to watch a 56 minute video we produced for local cable television to "teach" non-victims what happens to a person when abused: www/vimeo.com/13900438
In March 2011 the Jesuit Order, Oregon Province, settled clergy abuse claims in Alaska and the Northwest U.S. for $166 million. The California Jesuits, with headquarters in Los Gatos, Calif. have reportedly given money to the Jesuit Oregon Province.
Let’s hope that every person who saw, suspected or suffered clergy sex crimes – in Alaska and elsewhere – will find the courage and strength to speak up, call police, expose wrongdoing, protect kids and start healing.
David Clohessy, Director, SNAP, Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, (7234 Arsenal Street, St. Louis MO 63143), 314 566 9790 cell (SNAPclohessy@aol.com)
thank you for this program-abuse seems to be never ending.the church has her head in the sand.
the bishops can meet day after day and come up with nothing only where is the next hiding place, for
files and personnel. the show was well documented where else or to whom else can they go to?
I would like to see Frontline continue to search on the reservations in SD and ND for their stories.
Never see anything about the reservations in ND and their are a number of them. their are stories to be
had. I hope peoples eyes will be more opened to how they see victims.If the churches refuse to listen
then start looking at their bank accounts.
The court ordered the bishop to visit each church affected by clergy sex abuse and to apologize to all the survivors. I'd rather see the courts orders all the bishops and cardinals who protected dysfunctional sex freaks to be deported to Rome. They can dress up like Barbie dolls and parade around with the rest of the pedophiles.
Mike Ference
not to bash but they(catholicism) will in fact push the mark of the beast denying everyone their civil & religious rights. The mark of the beast is forcing everyone to worship on Sundays and not buying and selling on that day. 1. the day we ought rest is the seventh day 2. God who created the heaven and the earth does not force anyone to worship him but is such a gentleman that he respects your choice even if it means hurting yourself. Anyways next year around June 2, 2012 denying religious and civil liberty will start and be masked as a day to help the family and world community by catholics, and the faithful leader the pope. If you want to avoid the mark of beast and retain your civil & religious liberty whether you are gay or straight, Christian or atheist protect your Christ given civil or religious liberty!!!!! You have to right to think for yourself!
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