John Powell

Who is John Powell?

John Joseph Powell, born on September 22, 1925 in Chicago Illinois, was a Jesuit priest and author, and brother of Rita Donlan and the William Powell.

He received elementary-school education at the John B. Murphy public school in Chicago. In June 1943, Powell graduated from the Loyola Academy in Chicago. In August 1943, he entered the Society of Jesus at Milford, Ohio. In the fall of 1947, he began a three-year course in philosophy at West Baden College, and enrolled in Loyola University, where he took a Bachelor of Arts degree the following June. He began graduate work at Loyola in 1948 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1956.

Powell worked at West Baden University, the Bellarmine School of Theology of Loyola University and Loyola University, where he became an associate professor of theology and psychology. Powell was a proponent of humanistic Catholicism and wrote many books mostly dealing with psychology and Catholic theology, and conducted spiritual retreats along with his counseling work.

Fr. Powell was accused of abusing of at least seven female students in the 1960s and 1970s. He was first sued in 2003 and again in 2006. Six of his alleged victims settled their litigation in 2005.