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	Oregon Woman Says Jesuit Priest Raped Her The Daily News September 6, 2008 http://www.tdn.com/articles/2008/09/06/breaking_news/doc48c2c9d208637996716390.txt PORTLAND — A 62-year-old retired teacher who said she was inspired by the courage of the victims of serial rapist Richard Gillmore has told Jesuit officials that she was raped three decades ago by a priest who helped start Jesuit High School. Several of Gillmore's victims recently agreed to be identified publicly to argue against his parole. In the case of the retired teacher, the Oregon Province of the Society of Jesus, or the Jesuits, apologized and released a statement about the priest, the Rev. Joseph Perri, who died in 1997. The Jesuits, a religious order of the Roman Catholic Church, expressed sorrow in the statement and said Perri fell short of his vows. They urged others abused by Perri to come forward. Perri was Jesuit's first principal, from April 1956 until 1965. He died in March 1997 at age 77. "On behalf of all Jesuits, I apologize for Joseph Perri's failure, and pledge that we will continue to labor to heal past abuses, even while we labor to build a more just future," the Rev. Patrick J. Lee said in a statement on behalf of the Oregon Province of the Society of Jesus. The woman said she went to Jesuit headquarters in Portland last month and told her story to The Oregonian on Friday. She was 32 and teaching at a Portland grade school when she met Perri, who was working in the Jesuit province offices. He took her to his Jesuit cottage near Champoeg State Park, where the sexual assault occurred, she said. She told only personal counselors. This summer, she informed her family members and then reported the assault to the Jesuits. The province investigated the complaint as best as they could and determined it was credible. At the woman's request, the province said it released a statement as a means of support and encouragement of all victims of sexual abuse and, it acknowledged, to avoid a lawsuit. "The Oregon-based province seeks a pastoral solution that brings reconciliation and healing before something gets to court," said Pat Walsh, a province spokesman. The woman said the Jesuits have been supportive. "They were really compassionate and really concerned about my healing," she said. Jesuit High School has removed Perris' name from a campus building on its campus and from its annual fundraising appeal. "The failure of any of our brothers to live respectfully and chastely harms us all, and for that I am sincerely sorry," Lee wrote in part. In Oregon, Jesuit priests teach at colleges and schools and staff more than half a dozen parishes. Perri was a parish administrator of St. Henry Catholic Church in Dexter near Eugene for his last nine years. After serving as a vice principal of Gonzaga Preparatory School in Spokane, Perri came to Oregon in 1956 to help establish Jesuit High School in Beaverton. He left to take an executive post at Seattle University. He also was at St. Luke Parish in Woodburn, according to the Catholic Sentinel. "I think a lot of women out there are keeping this story inside of themselves," the retired teacher said.
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