Washington State Agency Accused of Placing Native Foster Children with Pedophile Priests

Washington State Agency Accused of Placing Native Foster Children with Pedophile Priests

On November 22, eight members of the Yakima and Colville tribes filed a lawsuit against Washington State’s Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS). They allege physical, sexual and emotional abuse during the 1950s, 60s and 70s, when DSHS placed them as foster children at Jesuit-run St. Mary’s School in Omak, Washington. While there, they say, they were abused by their guardian, Father John Morse, an approved DSHS foster parent, as well as by other clerics employed by the school.