2006 Pulitzer finalist | Feature Photography

COMPASSION: Elsie Cheemuk comforts her husband, Thomas, whose alleged sexual abuse by Joseph Lundowski, a volunteer missionary from 1968 to 1975, drove him to try to kill himself three times.  (Damon Winter / Los Angeles Times)

LONG JOURNEY: Mary Cheemuk returns fromthe Catholic church in the remote Alaskan village of Kotlik to her daughter’s home during a blizzard. Her sons Thomas and John said in a lawsuit against the church that they were sexually abused by John Lundowski, a volunteer missionary who served at the church from 1968 to 1975.   (Damon Winter / Los Angeles Times)

STILL DEVOUT: Peter “Packy” Kobuk, wearing a homemade rosary, longs to go to the Catholic church in St. Michael but is plagued by a sense of betrayal by the church - first when as a child he was allegedly abused by missionary John Lundowski and now as an adult seeking redress from the church.   (Damon Winter / Los Angeles Times)

LINGERING ANGER: Teddy Atchak walks by the old church in St. Michael, where he says he was molested as a child. Eighty-five Alaska natives from 13 villages have filed claims against the diocese.  (Damon Winter / Los Angeles Times)

STRUGGLING TO COPE: Like other alleged abuse victims, John Lockwood, a 48-year-old father of nine, turned to alcohol and drugs, often “home brew” alcohol. “It’s not good, but it does the job,” he said.   (Damon Winter / Los Angeles Times)

PATIENCE: Isaiah Snowball, 14, waits in his father’s truck for his parents to come out of Sunday services at the Assembly of God church in St. Michael. His father, Hillary, said his family left the Catholic Church when he was 19.   (Damon Winter / Los Angeles Times)

LINES OF TIME: Winefred Otten, one of the most respected elders in Stebbins, peers out her kitchen window. According to the lawsuit filed against the clergy, her son-in-law, Elias Pete Jr., is among the alleged molestation victims of Joseph Lundowski.   (Damon Winter / Los Angeles Times)

SUNSET STROLL: A couple walks toward the sunset on their way to a Potlatch, a winter festival popular among Native Americans, in the village of Kotlik.  (Damon Winter / Los Angeles Times)

PAYING RESPECTS: Thomas Cheemuk visits the grave of his brother John, who killed himself in 1999, in a cemetery overlooking the Alaska village of St. Michael in February. Cheemuk and other villagers secretly carried the burden of alleged abuse until last year, when they heard reports of the Catholic sexual abuse scandal. Then they broke their silence.  (Damon Winter / Los Angeles Times)