News & Events

(New Ulm, MN) – Tomorrow at 3:00 PM in Brown County District Court, the Diocese of New Ulm will ask the Court to dismiss a lawsuit filed on behalf of a sexual abuse survivor, Doe 7, who was sexually abused as a young girl by Fr. David Roney at St. Mary’s Church in Willmar, MN. The diocese continues to fight sexual abuse survivors and their advocates by keeping secret the full list of credibly accused clerics and the documents pertaining to the clerics and child sexual abuse by clergy. Until this information is released to the public, children remain at risk. In March 2015, the Dioces…

Mahnomen County District Court Judge Kurt J. Marben has ordered the Diocese of Crookston – a Defendant in the Doe 19 clergy sexual abuse lawsuit – to produce all records pertaining to sexual abuse reported to have been committed by any priest before 1985. The secret documents will be produced to Doe 19 under seal as a result of a protective order previously obtained by the Defendants in the lawsuit. The documents will provide a clearer picture of the Dioc…

The first civil trial regarding clergy sexual abuse of a minor under the Minnesota Child Victims Act will begin in the Doe 30 case on October 19, 2015, in Ramsey County District Court. The Diocese of Duluth is the defendant. An order issued by Ramsey County District Court Judge John Guthmann denied the Diocese of Duluth’s attempt to be dismissed as a party in the…

Judge Orders Diocese of Duluth to Produce All Recordson Child Sexual Abuse by Clergy from 1956-74 Judge Floerke’s Order in Doe 28 Case isBig Step Toward Diocese Accountability, Transparency    (St. Paul, MN) – St. Louis County District Court Shaun R. Floerke has ordered the Diocese of Duluth, the Defendant in the Doe 28 clergy sexual abuse lawsuit, to produce all records pertaining to sexual abuse reported to have been committed by any priest from 1956 to 1974. The secret documents will be produced to Doe 28 under seal as a result of a protective order previously obtained by …

The settlement the Archdiocese reached with the Creditors’ Committee on July 17 incorporated a claims classification review process that was and is still ongoing.  When the mediation settlement was reached, it included descriptions of different claims classifications for the various claims filed in the Chapter 11 proceeding.  The settlement allowed for a protocol for the Committee and lawyers for individual claimants to review the initial classification of any…

Archdiocese fails to treat survivors fairly in long, drawn-out legal battle
(Milwaukee, WI) – Today the Archdiocese of Milwaukee announced a $21 million settlement to compensate clergy sexual abuse survivors. The settlement comes after four and a half years of drawn-out, painful legal battles resulting in millions of dollars in legal fees to bankruptcy attorneys. The Archdiocese objected to all 575 sexual abuse claims filed in bankruptcy court and attempted to have hundreds of the claims thrown out of court before the November, 2015, plan of reorganization hearing. As a result, the creditors’…

Accused Clergy Sexually Abused Children in Onamia,Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis, Diocese of St. CloudDoe 51 ComplaintDoe 56 Complaint  (St. Paul, MN) – Civil lawsuits were filed today by two men who were sexually abused as minors by clergy at Crosier Seminary in Onamia, Minn. Doe 51 and Doe 56 were molested by multiple priests and brothers of the Canons Regular of the Order of the Holy Cross (“Crosier”) religious order. Several of the clergy named in the complaints also interacted with and sexually abused children throughout Minnesota, including at parishes and schools in the Archd…

Accused Clergy Sexually Abused Children in Onamia,
Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis, Diocese of St. Cloud

(St. Paul, MN) – Civil lawsuits were filed today by two men who were sexually abused as minors by clergy at Crosier Seminary in Onamia, Minn. Doe 51 and Doe 56 were molested by multiple priests and brothers of the Canons Regular of the Order of the Holy Cross (“Crosier”) religious order. Several of the clergy named in the complaints also interacted with and sexually abused children throughout Minnesota, including at parishes and schools in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapoli…

The names and assignment histories of seven priests of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate (“Oblates”) who have been credibly accused…

(St. Cloud, MN) – Stearns County District Court Judge Kris Davick-Halfen ruled that a clergy sexual abuse survivor’s public nuisance claim against the Diocese of St. Cloud can proceed. Judge Davick-Halfen’s June 22, 2015, order will help hold the Diocese of St. Cloud accountable for protecting pedophile priests in the past and will help keep children safe in the future. A similar decision in 2013

(St. Paul, MN) – The creditors’ committee in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis bankruptcy case filed a motion in federal bankruptcy court today requesting the Archdiocese play an outreach video in all 216 of its parishes. It is the first time ever in a diocesan bankruptcy that survivors/creditors have made this request. Newly appointed apostolic administrator Bernard Hebda now has an opportunity to demonstrate the Archdiocese’s commitment to helping survivors of clergy sexual abuse.

The Roman Catholic archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis and a deputy bishop resigned on Monday after prosecutors recently charged the archdiocese with having failed to protect youths from abuse by pedophile priests. In statements released Monday morning, the archbishop, John C. Nienstedt, and an auxiliary bishop, Lee A. Piché, said they were resigning to help the archdiocese heal. “My leadership has unfortunately drawn attention away from the good works of His Church and those who perform them,” Archbishop Nienstedt said. “Thus my decision to step down.” The resignations come about 10 day…

(St. Paul, MN) – The resignations of Archbishop Nienstedt and Bishop Piché and acceptance of them by the Vatican signals an important step in the necessary reckoning in the child abuse crisis.  It is equally important to note that the resignation of one or two men from high positions does not in any way signal the end to the crisis or deal with the scope of the problem. It does signal that finally there is a small measure of reckoning under pressure.  That pressure has been brought because of the courage of the survivors and the Minnesota Legislature.  It is the opening of the…

(St. Paul, MN) – The charges filed by the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office and John Choi today deserve high praise.  The complaint is against the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and it demonstrates and recites the problem to be a systemic one, a corporate one, by the top officials, by the Archdiocese, spanning years. It names 10 officials engaged in a pattern of conduct and alleges serious violations of law about which we have been concerned and addressing for years.  I have, in the past, been openly critical of the seeming inaction by the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office and J…