For decades, even lifetimes, the
Catholic Church refused to turn in priests with known pasts of sexually
abusing children, women and men. The story is known in as many corners
of the world as the Catholic Church exists, including Montana's two
dioceses. Hundreds
of victims have come forward with stories of abuse from Catholic
clergy. Estimates of others victimized may remain faceless and
unaccounted following the settlement of the lawsuit.
In
the Pacific Northwest, however, the Catholic Church and the Jesuit
Order have been accused of using Indian Reservations as their “dumping
grounds” for the worst recidivist priests accused of sexually abusing
children throughout the 1900s. Here, church officials reportedly
determined predatory priests could remain undetected. Here, the church
acted as an anchor for the communities, and the victims lived with the
abuse in silence.