Rev. George S. Endal, s.j.-Assignment Record

Assignment Record – Rev. George S. Endal, s.j.

Summary of Case: A Jesuit of the Oregon Province ordained in 1932, Endal lived and worked in remote Alaskan villages from 1936 until 1987, when he retired to an assisted living facility in Anchorage. He died in 1996. In a 2011 settlement, Endal was named one of the Jesuits' top ten worst alleged offenders, with 25 claims of child sexual abuse against him. He has been accused of abusing both boys and girls. From about 1959 through mid-1975 a volunteer, Joseph Lundowski, worked closely with Endal, traveling with him from village to village. Lundowski is said to have targeted native Alaskan boys; at least 60 have come forward with accusations against him. Some accusers have said that Endal knew of Ludowski's abusive behavior, and told the children that to tell would be a mortal sin. Endal also reportedly told a little girl he abused that if she told, she would go straight to hell. At least one reported Endal victim, a girl, is said to have later taken her own life.

Ordained: Aug. 24, 1932
Died: Nov.15, 1996

Start	Stop	Parish/Assignment	Town/Accusations	State	Position	Notes
1932	1933					Endal is not indexed in the 1933 Directory.
1933 Seattle archbishop was Gerald Shaughnessy, s.m. (1933-1950).	1936	Bellarmine High School	Tacoma	WA		Bellarmine High had 230-215 students.
1936 Vicariate Apostolic of Alaska bishop was Joseph Raphael John Crimont, s.j. (1904-1945).	1938	Holy Cross Mission	Holy Cross	AK	1/2	Holy Cross Mission had a boarding school for boys with 60 grammar school students, and a boarding school for girls and orphanage with 80 students. There were 24 "day scholars."
1936	1938		Anvik, Banezila, on Yukon River. Sleitmute, Napamute Tuluksak, Akiak, Bethel, on Kuskokwim River, all Eskimo tribes	AK		These were stations of Holy Cross Mission.
1938 Crimont was succeeded by Walter James Fitzgerald, s.j. (1945-1947).	1947	St. Lawrence's	Mountain Village	AK	1/1
1938	1947		Chukartulik, Annok, Pitka's Point, Fish Village.	AK		These were stations of St. Lawrence's in Mountain Village.
1945	1946		Pilot Station, Chukartulik, Tukchuk, Marshall.	AK		These were stations of St. Lawrence's in Mountain Village.
1947 Francis Doyle Gleeson, s.j. replaced Fitzgerald as bishop (1948-1968).	1948	St. Ignatius	Alakanuk	AK	1/1 Missionary.	St. Ignatius had a school with 31 students.
1947	1948		Fish Village and Villages of Yukon Delta.	AK		These were stations of St. Ignatius in Alaknuk.
1948	1962	Holy Rosary Mission	Dillingham	AK	1/1, 1/2, 1/3 Endal was school principal from at least 1959-1962. He put Joseph Lundowski in charge of the boys' dormitory.	Holy Rosary Mission had a school with 16-52 students. Endal was responsible for Joseph Lundowski who has been accused of sexually abusing scores of children in a number of Alaskan villages. Per the Jesuits, Lundowski was a volunteer. Lundowski worked under Endal from about 1959 through the summer of 1975. Endal is said to have been aware of Lundowski's abuse of boys.
1954	1962		Clark's Point, Naknek, King Salmon	AK		These were stations of Holy Rosary Mission in Dillingham.
1962 The diocese of Fairbanks was established in 1962.	1965	Our Lady of the Snows	Nulato	AK	1/1	Our Lady of the Snows had a school with 77 students.
1962	1965		Koyukuk, Huslia	AK		These were stations of Our Lady of the Snows in Nulato.
1965	1968	Little Flower of Jesus	Hooper Bay • Endal was accused in a 2005 lawsuit of having molested a girl repeatedly in the parish rectory from 1966-1968, when the girl was 9-12 years old. Per Endal's accuser, the priest said that if she told anyone of the abuse she would die and go straight to hell.	AK	1/1
1965	1966		Scammon Bay	AK		This was a station of Little Flower of Jesus in Hooper.
1968 Robert J. Whelan, s.j. followed Gleeson as Fairbanks bishop (1968-1985).	1982	St. Michael's	St. Michael • Endal is said to have sexually abused children at St. Michael's. In 2008 a man said that when he was a boy Endal was sexually abusing him during the same time volunteer Lundowski was sexually abusing him, which is why he knew he couldn't go to Endal for help. • One accuser stated his sister was molested by Endal as a child, and later took her own life.	AK	1/1	One Lundowski accuser stated in an affidavit that he told Endal during confession that Lundowski was abusing him, and that Endal told the boy it would be a mortal sin if he told anyone. By some estimates, 80% of children were sexually abused at St. Michael's during this time.
1968	1982		Stebbins, Unakaleet	AK		These were stations of St. Michael's in St. Michael.
1982 Michael Joseph Kaniecki, s.j. succeeded Whelan (1985-2000).	1987	Church of the Holy Angels	Unakleet	AK	1/1
1987 Anchorage bishop was Francis Thomas Hurley (1976-2001).	1996	Retired/Pioneer Home of Anchorage	Anchorage	AK		Endal died Nov. 15, 1996. The Oregon Province of the Society of Jesus settled in March 2011 with hundreds who claimed they were sexually abused as children by priests of the province, from the 1950s through the 1980s. Endal was named one of the Jesuits' "top ten worst alleged offenders", with 25 claims of abuse against him.

Sources: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1933-1996)

• Jailed Catholic Priest Enjoying His 'Freedom', Daily Sitka Sentinel, March 15, 1991
• George S. Endal, Anchorage Daily News [Alaska], November 18, 1996
• Our Lady of the Snows Parish, Hooper Bay, Alaska: 1928-2003, Alaskan Shepherd, June-July 2003
• TCC Gets Apology from Priest, By Diana Campbell dcampbell@newsminer.com, News-Miner [Alaska], Downloaded March 17, 2004
• Alaska Native Panel Addresses Sex Abuse Issues, By Diana Campbell dcampbell@newsminer.com, Fairbanks Daily News-Miner [Fairbanks AK], Downloaded March 23, 2004
• Clerical Abuse Lawsuit Expands, By Mary Beth Smetzer , Fairbanks News-Miner [Alaska] , May 12, 2005
• More Abuse Claims Filed against Church, By Mary Beth Smetzer, Fairbanks News-Miner [Alaska], February 23, 2006
• Jesuit Abuse Settlement Aims to Heal, $50 Million: Religious Order's Head Says Church Failed Victims in Alaska, By Lisa Demer
Anchorage Daily News, November 20, 2007
• Victims of Priest's Abuse Reveal Their Stories, Alaska Natives: As Children, They Say, They Weren't Believed, By Lisa Demer,
Anchorage Daily News, November 21, 2007
'Absolute Power'
• Decades of Abuse by Roman Catholic Priests and Volunteers Still Taint Eskimo Villagers in Rural Alaska, By Tony Hopfinger
Newsweek, January 14, 2008
• Judge: Bishop Liable for Layman's Actions in Sex Abuse Case, By Mary Beth Smetzer, Daily News-Miner, February 2, 2008
• James Doe 59 v Society of Jesus Oregon Province, Alaska Superior Ct, Jan. 2, 2009
• 43 More Allege Sex Abuse by Catholics, Church Leaders Are Accused of Negligent Supervision, By Lisa Demer, Anchorage Daily News, January 14, 2009
• Lawsuit: Seattle U. President Knew of Abuse, By Heather Bosch, KIRO, January 14, 2009
• Jesuit Head of Seattle U. Knew of Priest's Abuse, Lawsuit Claims, By Janet I. Tu and Nick Perry, Seattle Times, January 14, 2009
• Seattle U. President Denies Claims That He Knew of Abuse, By Nick Perry and Janet I. Tu, Seattle Times, January 15, 2009
• Excerpt from Bankruptcy Reorganization Documents for Fairbanks Diocese, Jan. 25, 2010
• Alakanuk - Saint Ignatius Catholic Church, Diocese Of Fairbanks
• Northwest Jesuits Agree to Landmark Settlement for Hundreds of Clergy Sexual Abuse Victims, March 25, 2011
• 'Frontline' Documents Catholic Church's Apologies for Abuse, By Kyle Hopkins, News Tribune, April 9, 2011
• The Silence, Frontline video, pbs.org
• Find A Grave Memorial

Priests in a Parish: We use the following convention to show a priest's place among the clergy of a parish: 1/2 means that he is the first priest listed in the Official Catholic Directory (usually the pastor) and that there is a total of two priests at the parish. The shorthand 3/4 means that the priest is listed third on a four-priest roster. See our sample page from the Directory.

Note: The Official Catholic Directory aims to report the whereabouts of Catholic priests in the United States on January 1 of the Directory's publication year. Our working assumption is that a priest listed in the Directory for a given year was at the same assignment for part of the previous year as well. However, Kenedy and Sons will sometimes accept updates well into the year of publication. Diocesan clergy records are rarely available to correct this information. The Directory is also sometimes misleading or wrong. We have tried to create an accurate assignment record, given the source materials and their limitations. Assignment records are a work in progress and we are always improving the records that we post. Please email us with new information and corrections.

This assignment record collates Endal's career history as it is represented in the Official Catholic Directory with allegations as reported in the media. We make no representation regarding the truth of the allegation we report, and we remind our readers that the U.S. legal system presumes that a person accused of or charged with a crime is innocent until proven guilty. Similarly, individuals who may be defendants in civil actions are presumed not to be liable for such claims unless a plaintiff proves otherwise. Admissions of guilt or liability are not typically a part of civil or private settlements. For more information, see our posting policy.

This assignment record was last updated on Sept. 14, 2014.