Jesuit leaders did nothing to stop a priest from sexually abusing children. The church may canonize one

The prominent religious order postponed the ordination of Donald B Dickerson, but ultimately allowed his promotion

• A version of this story was first reported and published by National Catholic Reporter

Numerous officials within the Roman Catholic religious order known as the Jesuits struggled in the 1970s and 1980s over how to deal with a man whom they knew molested children – but nonetheless was ordained a priest, according to a review of internal correspondence concerning his career.

The correspondence about the late Donald B Dickerson stems from a pending Louisiana state court lawsuit filed in June 2024 that alleges he raped a 17-year-old student at the order-run Loyola University New Orleans in 1984. It provides a rare, complex, behind-the-scenes look at how local leaders during a much earlier phase of the worldwide Catholic church’s ongoing clergy molestation scandal struggled to contain a predator priest’s repeated abuse of children while encouraging him to seek psychological help.

National Catholic Reporter is a national US news outlet that has been reporting on issues within the Catholic church since 1964