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September 27, 2011 in Region
New sex abuse claims made against priests, nuns
HELENA, Mont. — A new sex abuse lawsuit filed today against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Helena is one of the first involving abuse by nuns toward Native American children, the plaintiffs’ attorney said.
The latest suit, which also names the Ursuline Sisters of the Western Province as a defendant, is the second in as many weeks that claims child rape and molestation at the hands of clergy decades ago in western Montana.
It alleges the mother superior and three nuns at the Ursuline Academy in St. Ignatius abused 22 of the plaintiffs from the 1940s to the 1970s. Another 21 plaintiffs were abused by priests who taught or were affiliated with the school, said plaintiffs’ attorney Blaine Tamaki.
“They want accountability. The perpetrators have never been criminally prosecuted, they’ve never been punished,” Tamaki said of the plaintiffs. “It’s unfortunate that the only accountability that remains for the victims is through the civil system.”
All 45 unnamed plaintiffs are American Indians, he said. Several of the alleged abusers are dead. Tamaki said he believes some are still alive, though the statute of limitations to pursue criminal charges has long passed.
Last week, 34 people filed a lawsuit the Helena diocese over similar clergy abuse allegations at Catholic schools in St. Ignatius and Missoula, also dating from the 1940s to the 1970s. Tamaki said the plaintiffs are different in each case, though the two lawsuits have similarities, including some of the same schools and clergy members accused.
Both lawsuits claim the Helena diocese was negligent in allowing the abuse to happen and that it knew clergy members were abusing children and did nothing about it.
A spokeswoman for the Ursuline Sisters did not return a call for comment Tuesday. Diocese spokeswoman Renee St. Martin Wizeman said the alleged abusers in both lawsuits were nuns and priests who belonged to the Ursuline and Jesuit orders.
“It appears that these are not Diocese of Helena priests or nuns. We don’t have any nuns that are diocesan nuns,” St. Martin Wizeman said.
The diocese has not yet been served with either lawsuit, and she said she expects a more detailed response by the diocese by week’s end.
Some of the plaintiffs in last week’s lawsuit were also among the hundreds of Native Americans and Alaska Natives who brought claims against the Oregon Province of the Society of Jesus, which earlier this year agreed to pay $166 million to drop the lawsuit alleging sex abuse in Catholic-run schools across the Northwest and Alaska.
Tamaki also represented plaintiffs in the Oregon lawsuit.
The plaintiffs in the new lawsuit are also seeking unspecified monetary damages, though Tamaki said that is not what’s driving them.
“I’m offended by that criticism of brave victims who have worked through a lifetime of dysfunctional issues to deal with something that should not have happened to them as children,” he said. “They’re exercising their rights, and I consider that a noble and good thing.”
© Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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oneanddone on September 27 at 5:02 p.m.
There is no end to this perversion in the Catholic church. The US should revoke their tax exempt status.
Dazzeetrader11 on September 27 at 5:17 p.m.
Always the same schtick…40 to 70 years later, nobody knows what really happened since the defendants are usually dead.
I’d fight this if I was the diocese…….this is just plain money lust from the esteemed lawyers. Something they saw on TV….
misjustice on September 27 at 5:36 p.m.
American Indians and other Native Peoples, are the perfect victims to abuse. Who is going to believe them, anyways?
RedCedar on September 27 at 7:00 p.m.
Jesus Christ! Nuns raping Indian children? I know it hasn’t been proven, but, God, how low can it get? Presumably these nuns, if they were practicing Catholics, knew that they were sinning and confessed their sins, but their confessors did nothing to stop them either. How many times does an honest priest shrive a child rapist before he breaks his vow to keep it private?
I’ve never heard of thee Ursuline Sisters of the Western Province, before, and a little research indicates that there aren’t very many of them left, and they probably don’t have much in the way of assets. Given the rather disconnected org chart of the Catholic Church, I’m not sure how you prove that the Diocese of Helena has legal responsibility for what some nuns operating within its geographical area were doing. There are some mighty independent priests and nuns in the world, who have only the loosest connection with the official Church structure. I guess that’s for the lawyers to sort out. Obviously the Diocese still has some money, whereas the Ursuline Sisters likely have nothing.
greenlibertarian on September 27 at 10:21 p.m.
“Abstinence makes the church grow fondlers.”