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  Statement Concerning Sexual Abuse of Minors by Jesuits

Seattle University
October 3, 2006

http://www.seattleu.edu/home/news_events/news/news_detail.asp?elID=103200633526&elYear=2006

The act of child sex abuse is a horrible crime. Sexual abuse perpetrated by a priest is a very difficult issue for our community to face and understand, but it is important that we do so with openness, resolve and compassion.

Seattle University will always disclose the names of any priest, living or deceased, whom we have reason to believe has sexually abused minors. Seattle University has zero-tolerance for sexual abuse of a minor. There are no Jesuits on this campus who have been alleged or accused of child sex abuse.

Seattle University is aware of two priests, both deceased who taught at the university, and abused minors: Michael Toulouse, S.J., who was a faculty member from 1950 until his death in 1976, and the other we learned about very recently is a priest who taught at the university and abused a minor in California. Seattle University is in the process of notifying affected parties and we will immediately release his name once the notification is completed.

"As the President of Seattle University and as a Jesuit, I am angered by the violation of trust and saddened by the anguish and pain that victims have endured all these years.

I want these victims to know that they are not alone. It is profoundly important that we step forward and create an environment of acknowledgement and healing for both the victims and our community. I am committed to reconciliation as both a Jesuit and President of Seattle University," said President Stephen Sundborg, S.J.

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Seattle University, founded in 1891, is a Jesuit Catholic university located on 48 acres on Seattle's Capitol Hill. More than 7,000 students are enrolled in undergraduate and graduate programs within eight schools. U.S. News and World Report's "Best Colleges 2007" ranks Seattle University among the top 10 schools in the West that offer a full range of masters and undergraduate programs.

 
 

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