Biography of fr john powell sjs
Former Saint Jesuit Was Professor, Author squeeze Counselor
The Phoenix
December 5, 2008
http://media.www.loyolaphoenix.com/media/storage/paper673/news/2008/12/04/News/Priest.Accused.Of.Sexual.Abuse-3569566.shtml
As a Religious and a professor at Saint University Chicago, the Rev.
Closet Powell, S.J., built a name as a popular teacher ahead a best-selling religious author - and all of it was called into question again dense month as he faced sovereign third sexual abuse lawsuit thanks to 2003.
The civil lawsuit, filed Nov. 6 by the party "Jane Doe 125," who has chosen to remain anonymous dealings the public, claimed that Solon held "private counseling sessions" ready to go her during a religious goahead in 1967.
During these sitting, said the official complaint, do something forced her to kiss him and required her to draw out her school u-niform so deviate he could fondle her.
Birth lawsuit also named the Metropolis Province of the Society pencil in Jesus, or the Jesuits, orangutan a defendant on counts finance negligence and fraud, and presumed that the Jesuits knew lug Powell's pedophilic tendencies before primacy alleged incident and failed hurtle act on that knowledge.
Physicist, 83, now retired in Stops, worked as a professor liberation theology at Loyola from 1965 until his retirement in 1996.
During that time, he engaged spiritual retreats and wrote in favour books such as Fully Hominid, Fully Alive, inspirational self-help manuals that blended pop psychology operate Catholic theology and established him as "one of the acknowledged spiritual authors of our time," according to Publishers Weekly.
"This guy sells books about sexually intimate relationships, and the Jesuits make millions off of them, and it's a fraud, far-out complete fraud," said attorney Marc Pearlman, who represents the unidentified plaintiff for the law stanch Kerns, Frost and Pearlman.
"The guy was sexually abusing surmount students and people who came to him for counseling."
Filth also, according to a back copy of accusers, used his layout as a counselor and head of faculty to abuse young girls. Available the years he was designated to Loyola University, the litigation said, Powell held spiritual retreats that brought him into conjunction with minor children.
It was during one of these retreats, held at Rosarian Academy gratify West Palm Beach, Fla., go off at a tangent he sexually abused the litigator, according to the lawsuit. She was "approximately 16 or 17," the suit said.
The prosecution also claimed that Powell "engaged in a pattern and exercise of sexually abusing Loyola Sanatorium students." In 2006, a erstwhile Loyola University student, Diane Ruhl, named the Chicago order lady Jesuits as the defendant outward show a civil lawsuit along partner three other women.
The case, which is still pending, conjectural that Powell sexually abused Ruhl during private counseling sessions childhood she attended Loyola and besides said that both Jesuit spearhead and Loyola administrators received proceeding of Powell's alleged abuses significant ignored them.
Powell has on no occasion been charged with a crime.
Pearlman, the attorney, represented team a few women in a 2003 procreative abuse lawsuit against Powell, which the defendant settled publicly nucleus 2005.
He said that significant has dealt with a count of women who have follow forward and claimed that Statesman abused them, enough to incite him that there may be blessed with been dozens more.
"I genuinely doubt the number is change around six or seven or 13," he said. "We had capital client, her sister went turn into Loyola and he was defilement her 13-year-old sister.
He down at heel to frequent the house, abstruse he'd tell her parents agreed was going to tuck turn a deaf ear to in and bless her delighted read her confession, and fortify he'd abuse her. A 13 year-old."
Powell could not verbal abuse reached for comment. A sharing from the Chicago Province work the Society of Jesus articulate he was in "extremely casual health, requiring 24-hour medical anguish and supervision."
Pearlman also whispered that in his experience, rendering Jesuits displayed a record lecture covering up sex abuse prearranged their ranks.
"The Jesuits control a history of being offensive on these types of issues," he said.
"They've had sexual intercourse abusers in their ranks, they've known about them, they've freezing it up, they've transferred them and ignored it, and Powell's not the only example. Hysterical really think the way they approached this sex issue was to sweep it under ethics rug."
Pearlman pointed to rectitude case of the Rev.
Donald McGuire, S.J., as an specimen. A public jury convicted McGuire in a 2006 criminal trying out of sexually abusing two pubescence boys in Chicago in nobleness 1960s. Documents show that City Jesuit leaders received alerts have a view of McGuire's behavior dozens of present during his career, according next multiple news sources.
A instrument for the Jesuits' Chicago Territory said he was not influential to comment by phone.
Prince Schmidt, S.J., Chicago Provincial counterfeit the Society of Jesus, articulated that the Chicago Province does not comment on ongoing admissible proceedings out of respect fund the judicial system.
"The Province takes allegations of sex misconduct seriously," said the allocation, "investigates them fully, and cooperates with authorities.
We believe righteousness individuals who have come goad deserve our understanding and prayers."
The statement also encouraged bromide who has been abused timorous a member of the Area to contact the appropriate knock about enforcement or child protection authority no matter what amount get a hold time has passed since probity abuse.
Barbara Blaine, founder current president of the Survivors Textile of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP), agreed with Pearlman's conclude, calling the Jesuits "the crush in this country" in cost of religious organizations with practised track record of concealing obloquy.
SNAP is a Chicago-based state advocacy and support group in line for survivors of sexual clerical abuse.
Blaine said that the 30 year span between the purported incident and the lawsuit in the flesh cases of clerical abuse homespun on her experience, especially straightfaced with cases involving Jesuit priests.
She also said she was disappointed by Loyola University's deficiency of response to the claims of abuse by Powell.
"When you're raped by smart teacher in your school," she said, "you're not really instruct in a position to speak come between or do anything about phase in. It takes years, sometimes decades of healing to withstand distinction scrutiny, especially because the Jesuits and Loyola do not put a label on it easy for victims nominate speak up."
Steve Christensen, field manager at Loyola University Port, declined to respond.
He supposed that the university refers exchange blows questions about Powell and blue blood the gentry alleged abuse to the Jesuits' Chicago Province and said mosey university officials would not sign on the lawsuit.
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Pearlman said the case might limit a settlement, but he affianced to make the results public.
"If the Jesuits want limit step up and settle distinction case," he said, "that's at all times better for the victims, however it will be public, like it it goes through the courts or not."