Father Kenneth LaVan, removed from ministry in December 2013, is a serial predator whom the Archdiocese continually disregarded as being a threat to women and children. Allegations of inappropriate sexual behavior were made in the 1980s and twice LaVan was sent for treatment. A lawsuit involving one of LaVan’s victims was settled in 1985 and by 1989 LaVan was diagnosed with a compulsive sexuality disorder. In 1995 the Clergy Review Board examined LaVan’s history and recommended he continue in ministry. Archbishop Flynn was informed in 2005 that LaVan was not part of the monitoring sys…
News & Events
Father Francis Garvey Deposition: New Ulm Priests Accused of Sexual Abuse Identified
In a deposition taken on January 24, 2014 Father Francis Garvey identified Diocese of New Ulm priests accused of sexual misconduct. To-date, the Diocese of New Ulm refuses to publicly release its list of priests accused of sexual misconduct, or information about the priests.
Archbishop John Nienstedt served as Bishop of the Diocese of New Ulm from 2001 to 2007 before his appointment as Archbishop of St. Paul-Minneapolis. As Bishop of New Ulm, Nienstedt oversaw the Diocese of New Ulm’s compila…
Father Francis Garvey Deposition: New Ulm Priests Accused of Sexual Abuse Identified
In a deposition taken on January 24, 2014 Father Francis Garvey identified Diocese of New Ulm priests accused of sexual misconduct. To-date, the Diocese of New Ulm refuses to publicly release its list of priests accused of sexual misconduct, or information about the priests.
Archbishop John Nienstedt served as Bishop of the Diocese of New Ulm from 2001 to 2007 before his appointment as Archbishop of St. Paul-Minneapolis. As Bishop of New Ulm, Nienstedt oversaw the Diocese of New Ulm’
The priest file of former Archdiocesan priest Father Michael Kolar was made public due to a civil lawsuit filed in Ramsey County in 2013 by a survivor of Father Thomas Adamson. Doe 1 and his attorneys successfully sought and obtained the release of a list of credibly accused priests and their secret files from the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and Diocese of Winona. Father Michael Kolar worked in the Archdiocese for decades and with the help of top Church officials, including now-Archbishop Robert Carlson and former Vicar General Kevin McDonough, Kolar was allowed to remain i…
(St. Paul, MN) – On Monday, July 21, 2014, at 1:30PM in Ramsey County District Court, Judge John Van de North will hear oral arguments pertaining to numerous legal issues in the Doe 1 vs. Archdiocese of St. Paul & Minneapolis and Diocese of Winona civil lawsuit.One of the issues the Archdiocese and Diocese of Winona seek to dismiss is the public nuisance legal claim. The Archdiocese also contends it did not know of…
Attorneys for a sexual abuse survivor, Doe 1, filed and made public a sworn statement signed by former Chancellor of Canonical Affairs for the Archdiocese of St. Paul & Minneapolis, Jennifer Haselberger. The affidavit was filed in response to the Archdiocese’s attempt to throw Doe 1’s civil lawsuit out of court.Affidavit of Jennifer Haselberger
On May 6, 2014 Attorney Andrew Eisenzimmer gave sworn testimony under oath as part of a civil lawsuit involving a man, Doe 1, sexually abused as a child by former priest Thomas Adamson at St. Thomas Aquinas parish in St. Paul Park, Minnesota. Eisenzimmer has worked in various capacities for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis for over 30 years and is currently a consultant. He worked as Chancellor for Civil Affairs from 2005-2012.
(St. Paul, MN) – Secret priest file documents produced under court order by the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis on former priest and accused child molester Joseph Wajda have been released publicly. The Archdiocese produced the documents as part of a civil lawsuit, Doe 1 vs. the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Diocese of Winona and Thomas Adamson. Adamson is a former priest who is alleged to have sexually abused Doe 1 in the 1970s.
The Archdiocese of St. Louis announced a confidential settlement in a priest sex-abuse case scheduled to go to trial Monday but questioned the truth of a 22-year-old woman’s statement that she was molested as a young girl.The settlement for an undisclosed amount of money in the suit against defrocked Catholic priest Joseph Ross also spared the archdiocese from possible public disclosure of further details on hundreds of abuse complaints against its employees over decades.The woman, identified in court documents only as Jane Doe, had accused Ross of molesting her as a small girl between 1997…
News ReleaseJune 24, 2014Sexual abuse survivor, attorneys will request release of electronically stored information from the Archdiocese of St. Paul and MinneapolisRamsey County Hearing Moved to 9:00 AM Wednesday, June 25, 2014(St. Paul, MN) – On Wednesday June 25, 2014, at 9:00 AM in Ramsey County District Court, Judge John Van de North may decide whether the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and the Diocese of Winona will be required to turn over electronically stored information in the Doe 1 civil lawsuit filed in May 2013. Doe 1, along with his attorneys are also seeking a…
Archbishop Carlson’s Full video Deposition Testimony
(St. Paul, MN) – The sworn testimony of former priest Thomas Adamson has been publicly released by attorneys as a part of a civil lawsuit filed in 2013 in Ramsey County. Adamson’s deposition was taken May 16, 2014 as a part of a civil lawsuit, Doe 1 vs. the Archdiocese of St. Paul & Minneapolis, Diocese of Winona and Adamson….
ST. LOUIS — It was supposed to be a happy day for Archbishop Robert J. Carlson.Tuesday (June 10) marked the fifth anniversary of his installation as St. Louis’ archbishop, the shepherd of the region’s Roman Catholics.But any celebrating on the part of Carlson was done in the midst of nationwide headlines about his connection to the sexual abuse scandal that has rocked the Roman Catholic Church for more than a decade.On Monday, attorney Jeff Anderson released a deposition in which Carlson said he was uncertain whether during his time as auxiliary archbishop in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and…
Click here for Thomas Adamson Depo 5-16-14 – redacted