Latest news with #sexual abuse
The Guardian
6 days ago
- The Guardian
Late Jesuit global leader didn't stop known child molester from becoming priest
Pedro Arrupe, the late, former worldwide leader of the Jesuit religious order and a candidate for Catholic sainthood, acknowledged in records produced as part of a New Orleans court case that he was warned about how one of the group's aspiring priests had been accused of sexually molesting two minors and acknowledged making sexual advances on a third. The man was ultimately ordained, and there is no indication in records in the court case in Louisiana state court that Arrupe – who coined the Jesuits' slogan 'men for others' – took steps to prevent him from becoming a priest. The man was later accused of molesting other minors he met through his ministry. Arrupe's involvement in the case of Donald Barkley Dickerson – who died in 2016 and two years later was confirmed by the Jesuits to be one of hundreds of their members faced with substantial claims of child molestation – began toward the end of the 1970s. But it has drawn new scrutiny in a lawsuit that accuses Dickerson of raping a 17-year-old student at a Jesuit-run university in New Orleans. The case in New Orleans civil district court raises questions about whether Arrupe, a beloved figure whose name is on numerous prestigious awards and buildings at Jesuit institutions around the world, did as much as he could to protect those who trusted in his order. Church officials in Rome in 2019 initiated the process to canonize Arrupe, who is known for having ministered to survivors of the US's atomic bombing of Hiroshima at the end of the second world war. The first stage of that process has thrust Arrupe one step closer to becoming a saint, as the Jesuits themselves described it. The new concerns about Arrupe come at a time when the broader global Catholic church has been sending mixed signals about the urgency of addressing the clergy abuse scandal that has roiled it for decades. Pope Leo XIV in June said the church must 'not tolerate any … abuse', sexual or otherwise, and earlier in July the pontiff appointed French bishop Thibault Verny to lead the Vatican's child protection advisory commission. However, also in June but in another part of France, the archdiocese of Toulouse gave the high-ranking position of chancellor to a priest who had been imprisoned after being convicted of raping a 16-year-old boy in 1993. And a former Vatican diplomat who was convicted of possessing and distributing child abuse imagery reportedly has been allowed to continue working as one of several clerks at the Vatican's secretariat of state. At least one Jesuit official who testified under oath as part of the lawsuit accusing Dickerson of raping a minor on the campus of Loyola University New Orleans said he was horrified by the way the order admitted the suspected pederast into its clerical ranks. 'I think the whole thing is appalling,' said John Armstrong, a priest who described himself as secretary of the Jesuits' US central and southern province – which includes New Orleans – while an attorney for the plaintiff questioned him in early June. Meanwhile, a statement from attorneys representing the plaintiff who describes having survived being raped by Dickerson at a Loyola dormitory issued a statement saying Arrupe 'shouldn't … be canonized a saint'. His name also 'should be stripped from every building, award or anything else it currently graces', reads the statement from attorneys Richard Trahant, John Denenea and Soren Gisleson, all lawyers for numerous people who reported being sexually abused by clergy assigned to Catholic institutions in New Orleans, which is the church's second-oldest diocese in the US. A spokesperson at the Jesuit central and southern province declined to comment, citing a policy against discussing pending litigation. Neither Loyola nor the Shreveport diocese in north-west Louisiana where Dickerson was assigned during the alleged campus rape immediately responded to requests for comment. Arrupe spent 18 years as the Jesuits' superior general beginning in 1965. He was mailed a 20 December 1977 letter detailing concerns regarding part of Dickerson's abusive past, about four years after he was credited with conceiving the order's enduring 'men for others' mantra – encapsulating the Jesuits' zeal for community service – during an address to members in his native Spain. The letter from Thomas Stahel, Arrupe's fellow Jesuit and at the time the top official – or provincial – in the region including New Orleans, recounts how Dickerson had just gone on a retreat where he 'made sexual advances on [a] 14-year-old boy'. The boy, a student at the Jesuit-run Brebeuf college preparatory school in Indianapolis, told his parents – who in turn reported Dickerson to Stahel. Stahel's letter made clear that he believed the boy because he was at least the third child on whom Dickerson had been accused of inflicting abuse. By then, Dickerson had amassed a history 'of overt homosexual encounters with two high school boys whom he masturbated', Stahel's letter said. As their client pursued a lawsuit against the Jesuits decades later, Trahant, Gisleson and Denenea obtained records from the order's regional archives through legal discovery showing Dickerson had admitted abuse which occurred while he was studying to become a priest and was assigned to the order's high school in New Orleans. The Jesuits sent him to psychiatric treatment from February to June in 1975 without reporting him to civil authorities to be investigated as a criminal child molester. That was the Catholic church's custom at the time, though it has acknowledged that that practice was misguided and has sought to reform its protocols in such cases, including by urging its leaders to be transparent and report offenders to law enforcement. Dickerson completed the treatment and gained a recommendation from a Jesuit official named Louis Lambert to be ordained as a priest. As Stahel put it, Lambert excused Dickerson as only behaving abusively whenever he 'got nervous'. Yet, having learned of a third abusive incident attributed to Dickerson at the time he wrote his letter, Stahel implored Arrupe to at least hold off on the ordination, which had been scheduled for two days after Christmas that year. 'Dickerson seems to me a poor risk for ordination,' Stahel – who was also known for being a longtime editor at the Jesuits' America magazine – told Arrupe. 'I do not think we can in conscience present Dickerson … as ready for ordination.' The Jesuits subsequently postponed Dickerson's ordination – 'till further study of his suitability,' with Arrupe's approval, according to Stahel's December 1977 letter – and once again sent him to psychiatric treatment in 1978. In September 1978, Arrupe wrote to Lambert, saying he had gotten the psychiatric report on Dickerson. 'I shall await further information on the case from Father Stahel,' Arrupe wrote. Arrupe does not appear in any other documents so far reviewed by the Guardian and WWL Louisiana. In June 1979 and January 1980, Stahel wrote a pair of memos describing conversations with Dickerson, who had been a brother with the Sacred Heart order before joining the Jesuits, according to the website Dickerson in the first conversation said that 'the incident of December, 1977' was 'relatively insignificant' and that the doctor who treated him agreed, Stahel wrote. In the second conversation, Dickerson again asserted his belief that the same incident was 'relatively insignificant', Stahel wrote. But, Stahel continued, Dickerson understood 'such incidents have far reaching consequences, can cause scandal and in short must be regarded as serious'. Dickerson was ordained as a priest in 1980, according to information published by the Jesuits. It wouldn't be until 1983 that Arrupe stepped down as the superior general of the Society of Jesus, as the order is formally known. He had suffered a debilitating stroke in 1981. After his ordination, Dickerson was assigned to the order's college preparatory high school in Dallas. Jesuit officials did not alert leaders at the campus about their knowledge that Dickerson was a child molester, according to the Dallas Morning News. The newspaper attributed that fact to a deposition given by an order official in charge of schools in the region, Philip Postell, amid clergy abuse-related litigation many years later. By July 1981, Stahel received a letter from Postell informing him that Dickerson had been removed from Dallas's Jesuit college preparatory school. The parents of a child had reported an accusation against Dickerson to the school, whose principal discovered the various prior abusive episodes, the Dallas Morning News reported. The parents' accusation was one of multiple reports of child abuse made against Dickerson while at the school. Postell – who was president of the Dallas Jesuit college preparatory school from 1992 to 2011 – eventually conceded under oath that he should have reported Dickerson to law enforcement at that point, according to the Morning News. But Jesuit leaders simply transferred Dickerson about 200 miles east to the Cathedral of St John Berchmans in Shreveport, Louisiana. While assigned to St John, Dickerson frequently visited Loyola New Orleans, where he had gone for his undergraduate and post-graduate studies, the plaintiff represented by Trahant, Gisleson and Denenea would later assert in court. The plaintiff recounted gaining early admission into Loyola in August 1984 at age 17 and meeting Dickerson shortly after beginning his freshman year. Dickerson soon began inviting the plaintiff to dinner weekly alongside other priests. That allegedly escalated into groping and oral rape, including behind a sacristy. The plaintiff would later say in his lawsuit that he was eventually raped by Dickerson in a dorm room. The Jesuits at last got rid of Dickerson after the Shreveport church to which he was assigned received a letter in 1986 from a family reporting him for 'feeling and touching' their son inappropriately, as the Dallas Morning News noted. It was by then at least the seventh documented allegation against Dickerson – not counting the underage Loyola New Orleans student, who came forward after many years had passed. A Jesuit official handling that seventh known complaint against Dickerson drafted a memo to colleagues in which he insisted that the accused clergyman deserved 'to be given the benefit of the doubt'. 'We should proceed on something like this very cautiously,' the official, Edmundo Rodriguez, wrote in the memo. 'On the possibility of a set up, however remote', the memo added, deliberation about Dickerson should be limited only to 'this particular case'. Nothing should be discussed publicly either given 'the sensitivity of the material', Rodriguez added. Rodriguez also suggested the Jesuits provide $10,000 to Dickerson in living expenses over the next year, especially while the matter was pending. Dickerson, for his part, resigned less than a week later, saying it was for his 'own peace and the good of the Society of Jesus'. 'I am grateful to the society for what it has done to try to help me,' including sending him to 'extensive psychological therapy' at Foundation House in Jemez Spring, New Mexico, Dickerson wrote in his resignation. 'It is clear now that these measures have not been enough to prevent my falling into problems which become public and have the potential of harming the Society of Jesus and the church seriously. 'I appreciate your willingness to suspend judgment on the question of moral culpability and to acknowledge my genuine efforts to overcome my tendencies.' The Jesuits revealed in December 2018 that Dickerson was a credibly accused child predator. That year, it included him on a published list of more than 40 order priests and other members who had been the subject of child molestation claims deemed credible while working in what is now considered the order's central and southern province in the US. Jesuit officials released that list within months of a Pennsylvania grand jury report which established Catholic clergy abuse in that state had been more widespread than originally thought, creating pressure for groups such as the Jesuits to be transparent about molesters in their employ. Dickerson – who spent time in Nebraska after his Jesuit career, according to public records – died at age 80 in August 2016. That was about 25 years after Arrupe had died. In June 2024, the former Loyola New Orleans student who was allegedly abused by Dickerson sued the university, the Jesuits and the Shreveport Catholic diocese for damages. He did so almost immediately after Louisiana's supreme court upheld a law temporarily allowing people in the state to sue for compensation over sexual abuse no matter how long ago it had occurred. The lawsuit was unresolved as of Thursday, with the defendants generally trying to attack the validity of the law which enabled the plaintiff to file against them for damages. They also have contended that the allegations against Dickerson were outside the scope and course of his ministry. Nonetheless, at least one Jesuit has made it clear that he was not proud of how the order managed Dickerson. That official is John Armstrong, the assistant secretary of the Jesuit central and southern province, which disclosed that Dickerson was a child predator. Armstrong recounted how he once participated in a meeting about Dickerson in 1976, after the order realized he was a problem. He said he then had to work in Dickerson's proximity in New Orleans in the mid-1980s and loathed it, even though they interacted only once as far as he could remember. Under oath, Armstrong confirmed the Jesuits would not have needed to let Dickerson be present at any of their institutions – such as Loyola, where Dickerson purportedly abused the plaintiff – if they had ousted him or turned him over to law enforcement. Referring to how the Jesuits dealt with Dickerson throughout his career, Armstrong said he believed it was 'appalling that it was handled that way'. It was 'appalling that it happened,' Armstrong said. '[I] feel terrible for the people that were victims of [Dickerson's], and it is beyond my understanding how after that first incident … he was allowed to go any further.' This article was amended on 24 July 2025. A previous version said that Pedro Arrupe died 15 years before Donald Dickerson, but it was actually 25 years.
The Guardian
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
First Thing: Late Jesuit global leader allegedly let known child molester become a priest
Good morning. The former worldwide leader of the Jesuit religious order Pedro Arrupe acknowledged he was warned that one of his aspiring priests had been accused of sexually molesting two children and had admitted making sexual advances on a third, court documents reveal. Donald J Dickerson, who died in 2016, was ordained, and there is no evidence in the Louisiana state court case that Arrupe, a candidate for Catholic sainthood who died in 1991, took any action to stop this. After Dickerson's death, the Jesuits confirmed he was among hundreds of their members with substantial claims against them for child molestation. What is the claim in the Louisiana case? The lawsuit claims Dickerson raped a 17-year-old student at a Jesuit-run university in New Orleans. Donald Trump's name is reported to appear 'multiples times' in US justice department files about Jeffrey Epstein, in a development that threatens to increase outrage among his base, which suspects a coverup of the Epstein's sexual crimes and elite connections. Trump's spokesperson denied an account in the Wall Street Journal newspaper that the attorney general, Pam Bondi, told the president in May that he was named in the notorious Epstein files, as he sought to downplay the report as 'fake news'. The report, which cites senior administration officials, said Trump was told that many other high-profile figures were also named. It comes after the president faced a fierce – and rare – backlash from his base earlier this month, after the justice department announced it would not be publishing more information related to the Epstein case. Should we expect further developments? Yes. On Wednesday, the House oversight committee voted 8-2 to subpoena the justice department to release files related to Epstein, and subpoenaed Ghislaine Maxwell for a deposition. Deadly fighting has erupted between Thai and Cambodian troops along a disputed stretch of their border as both states accused the other of provocation. The clashes came after weeks of rising tensions between the south-east-Asian countries. At least 12 Thai people, including an eight-year-old boy, were killed across three provinces, the Thai army said. They included 11 civilians and a soldier. It added that it had closed all border checkpoints as violence continued at six different locations. There was no immediate information on casualties in Cambodia. How did it start? Clashes broke out near the Khmer Hindu temple Ta Muen Thom on Thursday morning. Skeletal children are filling Gaza's hospital wards as Israel chokes off food shipments to the territory, which the World Health Organization chief warned is now facing 'man-made … mass starvation'. Seoul has remained silent as North Korea has become increasingly active in its military support for Russia against Ukraine, with experts pointing to strategic, domestic political and economic factors for its lack of response. A passenger plane has crashed in Russia's far east with 49 people onboard. Officials fear there are no survivors. Columbia University has announced a deal to pay the Trump administration more than $220m as the institution aims to quash the threat of huge funding cuts. Good news for those who don't quite hit their 10,000 daily step target: 7,000 may just be enough. Achieving the more manageable target comes with a host of benefits, including links to a 37% reduction in the risk of dying from cancer, compared with just doing 2,000 steps. It is also connected to lowering the risk of dementia by 38%, the risk of depression by 22%, and a 25% lower risk of cardiovascular disease. A handy way of making sure your partner is safe – or a massive privacy violation? The jury is out on (consensual) location tracking, but there are signs that younger generations may have more relaxed views about it, with a recent Australian survey finding that nearly one in five 18- to 24-year-olds think it is fine to track their partner at all times. The Guardian's Leah Harper tried it out with her partner for a week, while hearing from experts about the risks to privacy – as well as romance. Boston is on the frontline of the climate crisis, with the emergency increasingly visible in a city known to flood. Rising sea levels, more severe storms and higher rainfall are all expected to intensify the problem, while the Trump administration remains in denial about the climate crisis despite the flash floods that killed more than 130 people in Texas this month. The Massachusetts city is leading the way in climate resilience, from accounting for sea level rises in building codes to prioritizing nature-based defenses. The Elvis Evolution bills itself as a 'walk-through experience' with 'cutting-edge digital technology, live actors and musicians, mind-blowing multimedia and heart-pounding music'. While people might have expected holograms in the style of the virtual reality smash hit Abba Voyage, many were disappointed, with one attender describing it as 'just a video of him that you could watch on YouTube' while a review noted that there was 'a noticeable amount of booing' from the audience. Is it this summer's version of last year's viral Willy Wonka experience in Glasgow? First Thing is delivered to thousands of inboxes every weekday. If you're not already signed up, subscribe now. If you have any questions or comments about any of our newsletters please email newsletters@
The Guardian
6 days ago
- The Guardian
Late Jesuit global leader didn't stop known child molester from becoming priest
Pedro Arrupe, the late, former worldwide leader of the Jesuit religious order and a candidate for Catholic sainthood, acknowledged in records produced as part of a New Orleans court case that he was warned about how one of the group's aspiring priests had been accused of sexually molesting two minors and acknowledged making sexual advances on a third. The man was ultimately ordained, and there is no indication in records in the court case in Louisiana state court that Arrupe – who coined the Jesuits' slogan 'men for others' – took steps to prevent him from becoming a priest. The man was later accused of molesting other minors he met through his ministry. Arrupe's involvement in the case of Donald J Dickerson – who died in 2016 and two years later was confirmed by the Jesuits to be one of hundreds of their members faced with substantial claims of child molestation – began toward the end of the 1970s. But it has drawn new scrutiny in a lawsuit that accuses Dickerson of raping a 17-year-old student at a Jesuit-run university in New Orleans. The case in New Orleans civil district court raises questions about whether Arrupe, a beloved figure whose name is on numerous prestigious awards and buildings at Jesuit institutions around the world, did as much as he could to protect those who trusted in his order. Church officials in Rome in 2019 initiated the process to canonize Arrupe, who is known for having ministered to survivors of the US's atomic bombing of Hiroshima at the end of the second world war. The first stage of that process has thrust Arrupe one step closer to becoming a saint, as the Jesuits themselves described it. The new concerns about Arrupe come at a time when the broader global Catholic church has been sending mixed signals about the urgency of addressing the clergy abuse scandal that has roiled it for decades. Pope Leo XIV in June said the church must 'not tolerate any … abuse', sexual or otherwise, and earlier in July the pontiff appointed French bishop Thibault Verny to lead the Vatican's child protection advisory commission. However, also in June but in another part of France, the archdiocese of Toulouse gave the high-ranking position of chancellor to a priest who had been imprisoned after being convicted of raping a 16-year-old boy in 1993. And a former Vatican diplomat who was convicted of possessing and distributing child abuse imagery reportedly has been allowed to continue working as one of several clerks at the Vatican's secretariat of state. At least one Jesuit official who testified under oath as part of the lawsuit accusing Dickerson of raping a minor on the campus of Loyola University New Orleans said he was horrified by the way the order admitted the suspected pederast into its clerical ranks. 'I think the whole thing is appalling,' said John Armstrong, a priest who described himself as secretary of the Jesuits' US central and southern province – which includes New Orleans – while an attorney for the plaintiff questioned him in early June. Meanwhile, a statement from attorneys representing the plaintiff who describes having survived being raped by Dickerson at a Loyola dormitory issued a statement saying Arrupe 'shouldn't … be canonized a saint'. His name also 'should be stripped from every building, award or anything else it currently graces', reads the statement from attorneys Richard Trahant, John Denenea and Soren Gisleson, all lawyers for numerous people who reported being sexually abused by clergy assigned to Catholic institutions in New Orleans, which is the church's second-oldest diocese in the US. A spokesperson at the Jesuit central and southern province declined to comment, citing a policy against discussing pending litigation. Neither Loyola nor the Shreveport diocese in north-west Louisiana where Dickerson was assigned during the alleged campus rape immediately responded to requests for comment. Arrupe spent 18 years as the Jesuits' superior general beginning in 1965. He was mailed a 20 December 1977 letter detailing concerns regarding part of Dickerson's abusive past, about four years after he was credited with conceiving the order's enduring 'men for others' mantra – encapsulating the Jesuits' zeal for community service – during an address to members in his native Spain. The letter from Thomas Stahel, Arrupe's fellow Jesuit and at the time the top official – or provincial – in the region including New Orleans, recounts how Dickerson had just gone on a retreat where he 'made sexual advances on [a] 14-year-old boy'. The boy, a student at the Jesuit-run Brebeuf college preparatory school in Indianapolis, told his parents – who in turn reported Dickerson to Stahel. Stahel's letter made clear that he believed the boy because he was at least the third child on whom Dickerson had been accused of inflicting abuse. By then, Dickerson had amassed a history 'of overt homosexual encounters with two high school boys whom he masturbated', Stahel's letter said. As their client pursued a lawsuit against the Jesuits decades later, Trahant, Gisleson and Denenea obtained records from the order's regional archives through legal discovery showing Dickerson had admitted abuse which occurred while he was studying to become a priest and was assigned to the order's high school in New Orleans. The Jesuits sent him to psychiatric treatment from February to June in 1975 without reporting him to civil authorities to be investigated as a criminal child molester. That was the Catholic church's custom at the time, though it has acknowledged that that practice was misguided and has sought to reform its protocols in such cases, including by urging its leaders to be transparent and report offenders to law enforcement. Dickerson completed the treatment and gained a recommendation from a Jesuit official named Louis Lambert to be ordained as a priest. As Stahel put it, Lambert excused Dickerson as only behaving abusively whenever he 'got nervous'. Yet, having learned of a third abusive incident attributed to Dickerson at the time he wrote his letter, Stahel implored Arrupe to at least hold off on the ordination, which had been scheduled for two days after Christmas that year. 'Dickerson seems to me a poor risk for ordination,' Stahel – who was also known for being a longtime editor at the Jesuits' America magazine – told Arrupe. 'I do not think we can in conscience present Dickerson … as ready for ordination.' The Jesuits subsequently postponed Dickerson's ordination – 'till further study of his suitability,' with Arrupe's approval, according to Stahel's December 1977 letter – and once again sent him to psychiatric treatment in 1978. In September 1978, Arrupe wrote to Lambert, saying he had gotten the psychiatric report on Dickerson. 'I shall await further information on the case from Father Stahel,' Arrupe wrote. Arrupe does not appear in any other documents so far reviewed by the Guardian and WWL Louisiana. In June 1979 and January 1980, Stahel wrote a pair of memos describing conversations with Dickerson, who had been a brother with the Sacred Heart order before joining the Jesuits, according to the website Dickerson in the first conversation said that 'the incident of December, 1977' was 'relatively insignificant' and that the doctor who treated him agreed, Stahel wrote. In the second conversation, Dickerson again asserted his belief that the same incident was 'relatively insignificant', Stahel wrote. But, Stahel continued, Dickerson understood 'such incidents have far reaching consequences, can cause scandal and in short must be regarded as serious'. Dickerson was ordained as a priest in 1980, according to information published by the Jesuits. It wouldn't be until 1983 that Arrupe stepped down as the superior general of the Society of Jesus, as the order is formally known. He had suffered a debilitating stroke in 1981. After his ordination, Dickerson was assigned to the order's college preparatory high school in Dallas. Jesuit officials did not alert leaders at the campus about their knowledge that Dickerson was a child molester, according to the Dallas Morning News. The newspaper attributed that fact to a deposition given by an order official in charge of schools in the region, Philip Postell, amid clergy abuse-related litigation many years later. By July 1981, Stahel received a letter from Postell informing him that Dickerson had been removed from Dallas's Jesuit college preparatory school. The parents of a child had reported an accusation against Dickerson to the school, whose principal discovered the various prior abusive episodes, the Dallas Morning News reported. The parents' accusation was one of multiple reports of child abuse made against Dickerson while at the school. Postell – who was president of the Dallas Jesuit college preparatory school from 1992 to 2011 – eventually conceded under oath that he should have reported Dickerson to law enforcement at that point, according to the Morning News. But Jesuit leaders simply transferred Dickerson about 200 miles east to the Cathedral of St John Berchmans in Shreveport, Louisiana. While assigned to St John, Dickerson frequently visited Loyola New Orleans, where he had gone for his undergraduate and post-graduate studies, the plaintiff represented by Trahant, Gisleson and Denenea would later assert in court. The plaintiff recounted gaining early admission into Loyola in August 1984 at age 17 and meeting Dickerson shortly after beginning his freshman year. Dickerson soon began inviting the plaintiff to dinner weekly alongside other priests. That allegedly escalated into groping and oral rape, including behind a sacristy. The plaintiff would later say in his lawsuit that he was eventually raped by Dickerson in a dorm room. The Jesuits at last got rid of Dickerson after the Shreveport church to which he was assigned received a letter in 1986 from a family reporting him for 'feeling and touching' their son inappropriately, as the Dallas Morning News noted. It was by then at least the seventh documented allegation against Dickerson – not counting the underage Loyola New Orleans student, who came forward after many years had passed. A Jesuit official handling that seventh known complaint against Dickerson drafted a memo to colleagues in which he insisted that the accused clergyman deserved 'to be given the benefit of the doubt'. 'We should proceed on something like this very cautiously,' the official, Edmundo Rodriguez, wrote in the memo. 'On the possibility of a set up, however remote', the memo added, deliberation about Dickerson should be limited only to 'this particular case'. Nothing should be discussed publicly either given 'the sensitivity of the material', Rodriguez added. Rodriguez also suggested the Jesuits provide $10,000 to Dickerson in living expenses over the next year, especially while the matter was pending. Dickerson, for his part, resigned less than a week later, saying it was for his 'own peace and the good of the Society of Jesus'. 'I am grateful to the society for what it has done to try to help me,' including sending him to 'extensive psychological therapy' at Foundation House in Jemez Spring, New Mexico, Dickerson wrote in his resignation. 'It is clear now that these measures have not been enough to prevent my falling into problems which become public and have the potential of harming the Society of Jesus and the church seriously. 'I appreciate your willingness to suspend judgment on the question of moral culpability and to acknowledge my genuine efforts to overcome my tendencies.' The Jesuits revealed in December 2018 that Dickerson was a credibly accused child predator. That year, it included him on a published list of more than 40 order priests and other members who had been the subject of child molestation claims deemed credible while working in what is now considered the order's central and southern province in the US. Jesuit officials released that list within months of a Pennsylvania grand jury report which established Catholic clergy abuse in that state had been more widespread than originally thought, creating pressure for groups such as the Jesuits to be transparent about molesters in their employ. Dickerson – who spent time in Nebraska after his Jesuit career, according to public records – died at age 80 in August 2016. That was about 15 years after Arrupe had died. In June 2024, the former Loyola New Orleans student who was allegedly abused by Dickerson sued the university, the Jesuits and the Shreveport Catholic diocese for damages. He did so almost immediately after Louisiana's supreme court upheld a law temporarily allowing people in the state to sue for compensation over sexual abuse no matter how long ago it had occurred. The lawsuit was unresolved as of Thursday, with the defendants generally trying to attack the validity of the law which enabled the plaintiff to file against them for damages. They also have contended that the allegations against Dickerson were outside the scope and course of his ministry. Nonetheless, at least one Jesuit has made it clear that he was not proud of how the order managed Dickerson. That official is John Armstrong, the assistant secretary of the Jesuit central and southern province, which disclosed that Dickerson was a child predator. Armstrong recounted how he once participated in a meeting about Dickerson in 1976, after the order realized he was a problem. He said he then had to work in Dickerson's proximity in New Orleans in the mid-1980s and loathed it, even though they interacted only once as far as he could remember. Under oath, Armstrong confirmed the Jesuits would not have needed to let Dickerson be present at any of their institutions – such as Loyola, where Dickerson purportedly abused the plaintiff – if they had ousted him or turned him over to law enforcement. Referring to how the Jesuits dealt with Dickerson throughout his career, Armstrong said he believed it was 'appalling that it was handled that way'. It was 'appalling that it happened,' Armstrong said. '[I] feel terrible for the people that were victims of [Dickerson's], and it is beyond my understanding how after that first incident … he was allowed to go any further.'
Daily Mail
19-07-2025
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Below Deck star HUGO ORTEGA reveals the dark reality for women who want to be a 'yachtie' as superyacht crew member is 'murdered' in Bahamas: 'There's rape, violence... stewardesses are like toys - attacks are covered up'
Yachting is facing a crew safety crisis, with 'toxic' behaviour and sexual abuse 'normalised' across the industry and women paying the price, Below Deck star Hugo Ortega has warned. The superyacht captain and newest bosun on the hit reality show has spoken out to warn of the dangers faced by female crew after the death of stewardess Paige Bell on board a luxury motor yacht in the Bahamas. 'The recent tragedy involving Paige is not an isolated incident - it's a symptom of something much deeper,' Hugo told MailOnline. 'Behind the glossy image of the yachting industry lies a serious and ongoing crisis in crew safety, particularly around harassment, abuse, and toxic working conditions. 'These are cases of rape, physical violence, and psychological abuse happening in workplaces with no independent HR, no external oversight, and often no consequence for perpetrators,' he said. 'Victims are removed from boats, sent to hotels, and offered hush money tied to NDAs. Meanwhile, abusers continue working, moving from yacht to yacht, protected by silence and hierarchy.' Some 65 per cent of yacht workers including captains and crew have witnessed or been aware of sexual harassment, be that physical or verbal, according to a 2018 survey by the Professional Yachting Association (PYA). Shockingly, almost 40 per cent of respondents said they had personally been subjected to unwanted physical touching working on board, while 50 per cent said they had received unwanted sexual or sexist comments. Hugo, who has been in the industry for more than a decade, said he has 'worked under dozens of male captains and been on boats with male deck crew who talk about stewardesses like they're toys.' He recalled the 'countless' times he had personally seen women fall victim to inappropriate behaviour from crew members at every level. 'The 'creepy' engineer that always touches their hips when he passes by her in the crew mess,' he said. 'Deck crew that give relentless verbal sexual harassment with no punishment because 'that's how it is at sea.'' He added that even captains, who are ultimately responsible for the conduct and safety of the entire crew, cross the line, describing how even married men are known to 'invite the chief stew for drinks or to their home far too many times for comfort.' Recalling one of many shocking cases he has witnessed in his decade-long career, Hugo told how one chief stew he worked with was 'sexually intimidated' by a yacht owner and decided to report what had happened. 'She went through the right channels - told management. They dismissed it,' he said. 'Then when the owner caught wind of it, they handed her a $50,000 settlement and forced her resignation. That's how problems get 'handled' in this industry - money over accountability.' 'Almost all' super-rich yacht owners have NDAs written into their workers' contracts, he said. 'While they're supposedly there to protect the privacy of the owner and guests, in reality they're used to silence victims. 'Crew are scared to speak out because they're told if they break the NDA, they'll be sued, fired, or blacklisted.' When new crew start on a yacht, he said, they don't know who they'll be working and living with, or even sharing a cabin with, for long periods at sea. While cabin assignments are typically same-gender, Hugo says, there are occasions when there isn't enough living space for crew and male and female staff have to share. In an ongoing case this year, a British stewardess sued the owners of 40-metre motor yacht EALU, alleging she was sexually assaulted by a male crewmember while asleep in a shared cabin. The woman alleged that the yacht's operator knowingly housed her with a male chef despite clear risks, creating an unsafe living environment. Hugo, a crew trainer, said he always warns women about how close the living quarters can be with their male colleagues and tells them not to 'build trust slowly'. 'If you're stepping onto a yacht with all-male crew or you're the only one onboard besides the captain? That's a red flag until proven otherwise. 'I'm not saying it's always dangerous, but it's a setup where stuff can go wrong fast, and too often it does.' Yachting's reputation of heavy boozing and partying among staff is close to the truth on some boats, he added. 'Young and green' crew members, often living far from home for the first time, can find themselves flung into a 'work hard, play hard vibe', where 'drinks are flowing, lines are being crossed, and no one really watching.' Inexperienced youngsters 'might not clock the warning signs' early enough, he said, advising that those entering the industry 'don't rush to let loose.' 'A uniform and a crew title doesn't make someone safe. Familiarity just makes it easier to ignore red flags. And on yachts, where privacy is limited and reputations are everything, that's the perfect storm. 'What I've seen is, when a predator gets comfortable, they get bolder. Suddenly it's, "Oops, I walked into the wrong cabin," or "come watch a movie in my room," and somehow they're undressed.' While Hugo made no reference to the show he stars on, instances of misconduct on board have been caught on camera by the series. One episode of Below Deck Down Under in particular left viewers shocked, and highlighted the importance of crew members watching out for each other's welfare. When bosun Luke Jones stripped naked and tried to get into bed with a stewardess who was sleeping after drinking too much, the boat's chief stewardess intervened and notified the captain. Jones was sacked, along with another crew member who tried to excuse his behaviour as a 'joke'. Commenting on the industry as a whole rather than the specific incident, Hugo said that familiarity and close proximity on board often allows men to take advantage. 'I've seen all the excuses. It's the slow creep of boundary pushing - disguised as casual or friendly. And because everyone is "mates," people are less likely to report. No one wants to make it awkward. No one wants to be that crew member.' He said the onus is on captains to 'set the tone' on board and foster a professional culture. 'As a captain now, I'm constantly reminding the guys onboard: this is a workplace, not a brothel. Just because we live together doesn't mean the rules of professionalism vanish. 'New crew - especially women - need to feel safe. And that starts with setting the tone from the top. Zero tolerance can't just be a policy. It has to be a practice.' Hugo said he would 'never forget' the landmark rape case in 2018, which saw a stewardess awarded $70.6million in damages after she was sexually assaulted by a deck hand. 'I was a deckhand at the time, and I heard guys joking about it. Saying they'd 'gladly get raped for that kind of payout.' 'Like the trauma of a woman getting violently assaulted could somehow be turned into a payday fantasy. It was disgusting.' Shockingly, there are no obligations for yacht management firms or private owners to screen new staff, meaning offenders can get jobs as crew members without disclosing possible criminal backgrounds. In one high-profile case, a boat captain was hired to helm luxury yachts despite being on a five-year probation for a felony battery charge and having a previous criminal conviction. Jessie Frost, who worked for a decade on yachts and is now director of UK recruitment firm Crewfolio, believes background checks are needed to stop offenders entering or re-entering the industry. 'If you're questioning the need for background checks in an industry where assault, harassment and even murder have occurred, then I'd respectfully ask: what exactly are you defending? This shouldn't be controversial,' she told Dockwalk magazine. She started a petition two years ago calling for criminal background checks to be made a legal requirement for all seafarers, with her petition gaining momentum following the news of Paige Bell's death. While calls for improved candidate screening have been backed across the industry, Hugo and many others argue that these sort of checks alone simply aren't enough. 'A background check won't reveal someone who's assaulted three stewardesses but was never reported because of NDAs or fear of retaliation. It's a surface-level fix to a deep-rooted issue,' he said. The biggest problem facing yachting, he believes, is the lack of safe complaint procedures on superyachts, which are often privately owned or run by management companies protecting wealthy clients. 'Yachting is still an old boys' club, dominated by white, wealthy men in nearly every decision-making role - captains, brokers, fleet managers.' Hugo said that senior male crew and captains who have been in the industry for years and whose behaviour has never been challenged develop 'god complexes where no one says no to them.' 'You combine that with a rigid hierarchy, closed-door decision-making, and a crew too scared to speak up, and yeah… it's the perfect storm for abuse. He said that from his experience, when abuse is reported it is very rare that the perpetrators face any consequences, with victims far more likely to be jeopardising their careers by coming forward. 'Victims are removed quietly, offered hush money, and warned not to go public. Meanwhile, the guy who assaulted them keeps working - same job, different boat. 'if anything happens at all, it's usually a quiet 'talking to' behind closed doors. The guy stays on. The behavior shifts for a week. And then we move on.' He said because of this culture of silence and NDAs on board most ships, this behaviour never comes to the surface. 'There's no registry. No blacklist. No centralized way for future employers to know. So the cycle just resets. And until we put real weight behind consequences, this will keep happening.' While he says he has seen some 'positive shifts' in the industry in recent years, 'it's not nearly enough'. The glimmer of hope comes in the fact that more crew are now speaking out in what has long been a closed-door industry, Hugo says. But outside these whisper networks and the important work done by maritime helplines, there is 'almost nothing' in place to protect people. Attention is on the issue of women's safety after the harrowing events of the last month, Hugo says, but far too often incidents are brushed under the rug. 'The needle's moving - but slowly,' Hugo says. 'The real test will be what happens next.' If you have been affected by any of the issues discussed, the International Seafarers Welfare and Assistance Network's YachtCrewHelp is free, confidential, multilingual, available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and provides emotional, wellbeing and practical support to yacht crew and their families of any nationality:
Associated Press
05-06-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Li Li Leung, who led USA Gymnastics in the wake of the Nassar scandal, to step down in December
Li Li Leung, who deftly guided USA Gymnastics back from the brink of collapse in the wake of the Larry Nassar sexual abuse scandal, is stepping down at the end of the year. The decision, which USA Gymnastics announced Thursday, comes with the organization in a far different place than it was when Leung took over in the spring of 2019. Back then, it was fighting battles on multiple fronts, and the long-term survival of one of the U.S. Olympic movement's marquee programs was hardly assured. USA Gymnastics had filed for bankruptcy just months before Leung's arrival in the hopes of reaching settlements in the dozens of lawsuits it faced from women who blamed it for failing to supervise Nassar, a former national team doctor who sexually abused them under the guise of medical treatment. The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee was in the process of stripping USA Gymnastics of its status as the national governing body for the sport. Sponsors fled. Most importantly to Leung, a former college gymnast, the trust between the organization and its stakeholders — from athletes to parents to coaches — appeared irrevocably broken. Through a mixture of empathy, savvy and commitment, it's not that way anymore. The lawsuit was settled in late 2021. The USOPC eventually halted the decertification process. High-profile corporate partners reengaged and, in some instances, even expanded their relationship. More vitally, the daunting culture shift USA Gymnastics faced as it tried to remake itself more athlete-focused has found firm footing. Throw in a dazzling performance at the Paris Games last summer by the women's Olympic program and a resurgent one by the men, and Leung knew it was time to make a choice she called 'difficult' and 'bittersweet' but also necessary. 'The organization is in a great place right now,' Leung told The Associated Press. 'I feel comfortable about being able to hand it over in this situation, in this position, to my successor who can then build on all the achievements we've had so far.' While Leung stressed she isn't burned out, she added she'd 'like a little bit of a rest.' She also wants to ensure whoever follows her will have plenty of runway ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. 'From a timing perspective, it would be completely unfair of me to say to the (USA Gymnastics board of directors) in 2027: 'Hey I'm out. Now you have to figure out how to get us to LA,' she said. 'A significantly stronger position' The search for her replacement will begin immediately. Leung, who said she is firmly committed to finishing out the year, will be part of the hiring process for a job that looks far more desirable now than it did six years ago. 'Li Li leaves USA Gymnastics in a significantly stronger position than when she joined, with a promising trajectory towards LA 28,' USOPC CEO Sarah Hirshland told the AP. 'Her leadership faced numerous challenges, yet she demonstrated remarkable resilience and strength, along with unwavering support for the athletes.' When Leung was hired, she was the fourth person to hold the titles of CEO and president in two years. She never put a timeline on how long she might stay, though she believes her departure showcases just how stable things have become. 'It's a sign of good organizational evolution to have new leadership come into place and have new perspectives and innovative thinking,' she said. Leung leaned heavily into both when she ran into what was essentially a burning building. During her first week on the job alone, a tractor-trailer carrying equipment to a national training camp flipped over and she was told there was only about six weeks' worth of cash flow in the bank. It was daunting to be sure, but Leung said she had 'zero buyer's remorse.' 'It's been difficult at times, but there has never been a day that I thought 'We can't do this,'' she added. Accomplishing the 'impossible' Leung might have been one of the few. Yet her experience as a gymnast gave her a perspective that those who preceded her did not. Where others had been almost standoffish with sexual abuse survivors out of fear of legal retribution, Leung led with empathy that wasn't merely performative. The organization established an Athletes Bill of Rights in 2020. It later expanded mental health care services for both athletes and their coaches and created a new funding structure designed to give national team members more equity. Even some of USA Gymnastics' most visible critics took notice. Two-time Olympic champion Simone Biles, who publicly identified herself as a Nassar victim in 2018 and frequently called out the organization's leadership for a series of missteps, told the AP in 2024 that she had noticed a positive shift inside USA Gymnastics because those in power had 'stepped up to the role' and 'put in the work.' It's that shift that Leung is most proud of as she eyes a break. She had no idea how long she would stay when she came on board. Given the organization's tenuous position at the time, she didn't have the luxury. 'For me, it was about putting the big building blocks in place (and) accomplishing the things that were mission critical,' she said. 'Cultural change is the most difficult type of change to implement, because you have no idea how long it takes.' Leung understands that kind of change has no finish line. Yet when she walks out of her office in Indianapolis for the last time later this year, it will be far closer than when she walked into it. 'A lot of people said it was total career suicide (when I came on),' Leung said. 'I thought the exact opposite of that. I think, obviously a lot of people thought it was an impossibility, (but) we've been able to accomplish what people thought was impossible.' ___ AP National Writer Eddie Pells contributed to this report. ___ AP Olympics:
