According to a 2018 report, over 20 Jesuit priests with a history of sexual abuse lived on Gonzaga University’s campus. University president Thayne McCulloh denied knowledge of the presence of abusive priests.

Following 18 months of deliberations, a university commission “stop[ped] short of issuing a formal apology or putting particular parties at fault for the presence of priests with a history of sexual abuse on the university’s premises.” The commission recommended the construction of a labyrinth “to honor individuals abused by Jesuits” who lived on campus.