ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis did not require an abusive priest to give the church the names of every child he sexually assaulted, according to a document obtained by MPR News.
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Penn State has agreed to pay $59.7 million to 26 sexual abuse victims of the former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky in exchange for an end to their claims against the university, Penn State announced Monday. Of the 26 settlements, 23 are fully signed and three are agreed to in principle, with final documentation expected in the next few weeks. Rodney A. Erickson, the president of the university, called the settlement “another step forward in the healing process for those hurt by Mr. Sandusky, and another step forward for Penn State.” He added, “We cannot undo what has been done,…
Father Robert M. Thruner On October 29, 2013 a lawsuit was filed on behalf of a woman in her 30s, naming as defendants Fr. Robert Thurner and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. The lawsuit claims the Archdiocese was negligent in allowing Father Thurner continued access to children. In 1982, Thurner admitted to then-Archbishop Roach that he had sexually abused a 16 year-old boy and purchased alcohol for the boy. Despite Thurner’s admission, the Archdiocese chose to move Thurner into a new, unsuspecting parish where he subsequently abused Doe 23…
The pastor of a large Twin Cities parish has taken the unusual step of publicly questioning whether Archbishop John Nienstedt should continue in his post amid a widening priest sex abuse scandal. The Rev. Bill Deziel, who heads the 6,000-member Church of St. Peter, used his church’s Sunday bulletin to call for a “do-over” of archdiocesan leadership. “When things get this bad,” Deziel wrote to his parishioners, “sometimes a fresh start is needed for all involved.” Such a change, he said, “could get us moving again with all that Christ calls us to do.” Jim Accurso, spokesman for the Archdioces…
Duluth Catholic officials this month announced a priest “has recently been credibly accused” of molesting a girl and was “rather quickly” removed from ministry. Sound too good to be true? It is. Questioned by reporters, Duluth Bishop Paul Sirba admitted he received the abuse report more than a year ago. He admitted it took two months for him to oust the predator. And Duluth’s prosecutor says no one has told him anything about child sex abuse allegations against the priest, Fr. Cornelius Kelleher. Bishop Sirba left out a few facts as well. When the allegation came in, and when it was deemed…
T. PAUL, Minn. — Internal archdiocesan documents obtained by MPR News raise questions about what the University of St. Thomas knew about sexual abuse allegations against a professor in 2006. The documents show top church deputy Kevin McDonough investigated several allegations in 2006 that the Rev. Michael Keating sexually abused women and he planned to communicate his findings to an administrator at the University of St. Thomas. Keating, 57, is an associate professor of Catholic Studies at the University of St. Thomas and a priest in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. He went on te…
Internal memoranda between Archdiocesan officials recently obtained by Minnesota Public Radio indicate that the Archdiocese investigated several allegations of Fr. Keating’s misconduct with young women in 2006 and that the University of St. Thomas was to be made aware of the Archdiocese’s findings. Several Archdiocesan officials were involved in the investigation, including Fr. Kevin McDonough, Archbishop Harry Flynn, and Andy Eisenzimmer. During the course of the investigation…
The University of St. Thomas priest accused of sexual contact with a young girl expressed love and affection for her in e-mails he sent her from Rome when she was 14 and 15 years old. “Be really sure that I love you lots and lots and never think of you without a smile coming to my mind,” the Rev. Michael J. Keating wrote in one of at least 19 e-mails made public Thursday on the website of her attorney, Jeff Anderson of St. Paul. Anderson said the writings were presented to the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis seven years ago in a church review of his client’s sexual abuse claim…
Video Transcript Emails – Redacted Jane Doe 20 Statement
Doe 20, a sexual abuse survivor who filed a lawsuit in Ramsey County District Court on Monday, October 14, 2013, naming Father Michael Keating, has publicly released her video transcript of testimony presented in 2006 to officials of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis when she was interviewed about the sexual abuse…
Some wounds, if closed too quickly, can appear to heal on the surface while festering deep below the skin. When that happens, it can be necessary to reopen the wound, to expose and remove the infection. Minnesota’s Catholic church is at such a point. The infection, in this case, is a list of alleged sex offenders among the clergy in each diocese in Minnesota. Such lists were compiled across the nation in 2004 in response to a 2002 Boston Globe investigation of sexual abuse and coverup within the Catholic church. Five Boston-area priests were convicted and sentenced to prison, but this was me…
SACRAMENTO — Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a bill that would have given some childhood sex abuse victims more time to file lawsuits, after a heated opposition campaign led by the Catholic Church that stretched from Capitol hallways to Los Angeles church pews. In an unusually detailed three-page veto message released Saturday, the Democratic governor, a former Jesuit seminarian, said the bill raised questions of equal treatment of public and private employers. Pointing to a centuries-long tradition of limiting the period when legal claims can be filed, Brown said institutions should feel secure that…
The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, under fire for its handling of two cases involving sexual misconduct by priests, is also fighting a battle on a second front, facing heightened demands that it release a list held in secret since 2004 of alleged sex offenders among its clergy. A court hearing on that issue in Ramsey County was where allegations of a child pornography coverup first surfaced last week. A total of six court hearings seeking the release of secret lists, involving every diocese in Minnesota, are slated for this fall, with additional actions targeting about a …
Crookston — In a hearing Wednesday afternoon in Polk County District Court in Crookston, a sexual abuse victim, along with her attorneys, requested the public release of a list they say is possessed and maintained by the Diocese of Crookston and contains the names of several priests accused of sexual abuse. Judge Tamara Yon heard arguments from the victim’s attorney, Jeff Anderson, along with defense counsel for the Diocese of Crookston. The lawsuit was filed June 20 in Polk County and also names the Diocese of Fall River, Mass…
A University of St. Thomas law professor will announce at 3:45 p.m. Wednesday the names of members appointed to a new task force on clergy sexual misconduct. Archbishop John Nienstedt named the Rev. Reginald Whitt to select the members of the Safe Environment and Ministerial Standards Task Force. Whitt will meet with reporters at the Leamington company offices in Minneapolis, a spokesman for the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis said in a statement Wednesday morning. Task force member Brian Short, CEO of Leamington, will speak about the scope and mission of the task force, the archd…