SPOKANE, Wash. -- More than 500 people in the Pacific Northwest have filed claims against the Oregon Province of the Society of Jesus, alleging that members of the Catholic order sexually abused them as children. The Spokesman-Review in Spokane reports that the claims against the Jesuits span decades and range from Native Alaskan children to students at Spokane's Gonzaga Prep. A federal judge overseeing the Chapter 11 reorganization of the province set a Nov. 30 deadline for people to file the claims. The Jesuits already have settled 200 sex-abuse claims.
The organization includes Jesuits in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana and Alaska.
