News & Events

The Diocese of St. Cloud on Friday issued revisions to a Jan. 3 list of Central Minnesota clergy who had been credibly accused of the sexual abuse of minors..

Prosecution attorneys rested their case Thursday in the sexual assault trial of former Eau Claire pediatrician David Van de Loo at the Douglas County Courthouse in Superior.Eau Claire County District Attorney Gary King and Karie Cattanach, an assistant attorney general with the state Department of Justice, spent the last seven days presenting their witnesses.Van de Loo’s attorneys, Rich White of Eau Claire and Stephen Hurley of Madison, begin their case today with witness testimony.Van de Loo, 61, faces 16 sexual assault-related felony charges involving 15 former juvenile male patients at Mayo…

 News ReleaseJanuary 30, 2014Landmark Lawsuit Involving Yeshiva University High School DismissedJudge dismisses 32 sexual abuse claims based on the statute of limitations(New York, NY) – Judge John G. Koeltl issued an order today dismissing a civil lawsuit filed in the Southern District of New York on behalf of 32 former students of Yeshiva University High School in New York.  The defendants named in the lawsuit were Yeshiva University, Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy-Yeshiva University High School for Boys, Rabbi Norman Lamm, Rabbi Robert Hirt and various members of the Board o…

The St. Cloud diocese and St. John’s Abbey have made public all of the names of priests and monks who have credible allegations against them of sexual misconduct with minors, according to the leaders of both institutions.Abbot John Klassen and Bishop Donald Kettler said Monday that they are confident they know of all allegations made against members of their orders to date and that the names of those credibly accused have been released.Klassen and Kettler met Monday with the St. Cloud Times Editorial Board, at the invitation of Executive Editor John Bodette, to discuss the ongoing clergy sex a…

The St. Cloud diocese and St. John’s Abbey have made public all of the names of priests and monks who have credible allegations against them of sexual misconduct with minors, according to the leaders of both institutions.Abbot John Klassen and Bishop Donald Kettler said Monday that they are confident they know of all allegations made against members of their orders to date and that the names of those credibly accused have been released…

The Archdiocese of Milwaukee filed a lawsuit Wednesday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court seeking to recover more than $2.6 million in legal fees from the firm now known as OneBeacon Insurance Co.On the same day, OneBeacon asked U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Susan V. Kelley to lift the automatic stay imposed by the bankruptcy on all litigation involving the archdiocese so the Wisconsin Supreme Court can decide once and for all whether the insurer is liable for the church’s actions related to the sexual abuse of children.Archdiocese spokesman Jerry Topczewski said it would oppose OneBeacon’s motion, saying “it d…

Media AdvisoryJanuary 22, 2014Hearing Today Could Lead to Release of Secret Documents from the Diocese of Duluth (Duluth, MN) – Today at 1:30PM at a hearing in St. Louis County District Court, the Diocese of Duluth will request Judge David M. Johnson dismiss the public nuisance count in a sexual abuse case involving Father John Nicholson. Today’s hearing could lead to the release of secret documents that detail what the Diocese of Duluth bishops and officials knew about these priests, when they knew it, and what they did in response to the abuse reports will be released. Su…

A former Hakalau resident accused in a lawsuit of sexually abusing five of his adopted sons has been located in Florida.Jay Ram was served with the lawsuit, filed in Honolulu Circuit Court in March, earlier this month after being tracked to the rural community of Odessa, outside Tampa, Fla., said Honolulu attorney Mark Gallagher, who is representing the plaintiffs. He had recently moved there from Saipan.Gallagher said Ram, now going by the name Jay Mizraha, is living with three other males, either teenagers or young men. The youngest is believed to be a teenager from Hilo, said Joelle Casteix…

A federal judge has approved a $16 million settlement brokered between sex-abuse victims and the New Rochelle-based Christian Brothers Institute.The settlement was first agreed to in May. Judge Robert Drain’s order on Monday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in White Plains means the settlement is now binding on all parties, including the Christian Brothers’ debtors, the group said in a statement.Abuse victims voted in recent weeks to unanimously approve the settlement, which was developed jointly by lawyers for the more than 400 victims, the Christian Brothers and the group’s debtors.“We apologize for…

Churchgoers emerged from Mass at Holy Name Cathedral on Sunday wary of an impending release — announced by church leaders here — of documents detailing the sexual abuse of children at the hands of priests, but optimistic that the Catholic church could finally move beyond the past.Cardinal Francis George, the head of Chicago’s Roman Catholic Archdiocese, penned a letter distributed Sunday at Masses across the city and suburbs announcing the release of the documents. “The church struggles with the past but it’s a way of providing some healing people need,” said Andy Luther, 33, of Villa Park…

Details of sexual abuse by priests, along with information about church officials who may have covered up the abuse, will be turned over next week to attorneys suing the Archdiocese of Chicago and will be made public shortly afterward.Cardinal Francis George announced the move in a letter to priests that will be printed in church bulletins this Sunday.The church files, sought for nearly seven years by plaintiffs’ attorneys, will be handed over Jan. 15 under terms of a court settlement. But they will not become public for at least another week in order to remove victims’ information, according …