By Michael O'Malley
Plain Dealer
November 22, 2011
http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2011/11/st_ignatius_reports_more_alleg.html
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| The Rev. William Murphy, president of St. Ignatius High School, says he's committed to investigating allegations of sexual abuse decades ago at the school. |
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- St. Ignatius High School, which three months ago alerted alumni and students to allegations that priests sexually abused students at the school decades ago, is now reporting additional allegations.
In August, the Rev. William Murphy, president of the Catholic boys' school, sent 18,000 letters to alumni and students saying that a dozen graduates had come forward with claims that they were sexually abused at the school in the 1950s and 1970s.
As a result of the letter, 21 more alumni have contacted Murphy with complaints of sexual abuse or improprieties. Twenty of them said the incidents occurred while they were students during the same time periods as described in the earlier complaints or in the early 1960s. Murphy said one graduate's complaint of attempted sexual abuse was unrelated to St. Ignatius.
In a second letter, now being mailed, Murphy is notifying the St. Ignatius community about the latest allegations.
"To date, I have reported 33 complaints to the Chicago-Detroit Province of the Jesuits for further investigation and follow-up," he wrote.
The president of the 1,450-student school, also wrote: "I remain steadfast in my goal to make sure this type of abuse never happens again to a St. Ignatius student. I can tell you with confidence that today's students are safe."
Initially, the complaints were against four priests who had taught at the school. But another priest, who has since left the priesthood, and a lay teacher have recently been accused. None of those accused remain at the school today.
The six accused perpetrators include three priests who are dead, Murphy said in an interview Tuesday. The other three -- a priest, an ex-priest and a lay teacher -- are alive, he said.
One of them is living in a nursing home out of state, said Murphy. The other two, he said, are living in the Cleveland area.
Following the policy of his Jesuit order, Murphy, who interviewed the alleged victims, did not publicly name the accused perpetrators.
He said that in addition to notifying the Jesuits' Office of Victim Advocacy, he turned his reports of the allegations over to the local civil authorities.
Murphy acknowledged that some people with ties to St. Ignatius are pressing him for the names of the alleged perpetrators.
"A very small group of people doesn't feel the process is going far enough," he said, adding, "It's not within our authority to determine who's guilty or not. For us to name names would give us a lot of problems."
Murphy said the province's victim advocacy office will continue to investigate and offer counseling to the alleged victims.
The president of the 125-year-old school said it was greatly disturbing to hear a 70-year-old man, allegedly abused as a child, telling his story for the first time.
"We cry together," he said. "What do you say except, 'I'm sorry for your pain and what can we do to support your journey in healing?'
"This is such a terrible thing," Murphy added. "And as awful as it's been for me, it's nothing compared to what happened to the victims of sexual abuse."
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