News & Events

Nov 25, 2013: Media Advisory: Attorneys to Announce Settlement in Father Daniel McCormack Sexual Abuse Case

Media AdvisoryNovember 25, 2013Chicago News Conference TuesdayAttorneys to Announce Multi-Million Dollar Settlement in Sexual Abuse Case Involving Father Daniel McCormack and the Archdiocese of Chicago Nine additional cases settled involving multiple clericsJeff Anderson and Marc Pearlman to discuss status of the release of documents and priest files on 30 credibly accused offenders What:  At a news conference on Tuesday, November 26, 2013, in Chicago, sexual abuse attorneys Jeff Anderson and Marc Pearlman will:• Announce a multi-million dollar settlement on behalf of …

Nov 19, 2013: Saint Luke Institute, Father Francis Hoefgen Named in Sexual Abuse Lawsuit

Media AdvisorySt. Paul News Conference Tuesday First Child Victims Act Lawsuit to Name Treatment Facility Run by Bishops Where Known Offenders were Recycled into Ministry Father Francis Hoefgen admitted abuse to police, sent to St. Luke’s and placed back in Hastings parish where he molested Doe 27 Saint Luke Institute, St. John’s, Archdiocese, named in sexual abuse lawsuit What:  At a news conference on Tuesday in St. Paul, Minnesota former priest and monk Patrick J. Wall, along with attorney Jeff Anderson, will:  • Announce the filing of a sexual abuse lawsuit on behalf of…

Nov 14, 2013: News Release: Archdiocese Hires Inside Firm to Review Priest Files

 November 14, 2013Archdiocese Hires Insider to Conduct Review of Priest FilesArchbishop Nienstedt to decide what information is accessible for review Statement of Attorney Mike Finnegan(St. Paul, Minnesota) – Today the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and Archbishop Nienstedt announced the hiring of Kinsale Management Consulting to conduct a review of clergy files. The firm’s founder, Kathleen McChesney, Ph.D., is the former head of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Office for Child and Youth Protection. We are concerned that Archbishop Nienstedt chose another chur…

Nov 12, 2013: News Release: Milwaukee Archdiocese, Insurers Exclude Abuse Survivors From Settlement Negotiations

News ReleaseNovember 12,
2013Attorneys for the Archdiocese of
Milwaukee and its Insurers
Reach Confidential Settlement
Excluding Sexual Abuse Survivors 
Archbishop breaks promise to treat
survivors fairly during bankruptcy
(Milwaukee, WI) –
Yesterday the Archdiocese of Milwaukee filed legal papers in the United
States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin seeking to extend
the stay of proceedings due to a confidential settlement agreement reached
between the Archdiocese and one of its primary insurers, LMI. While at first
glance this seems to bring…

Nov 11, 2013: Statement of Attorney Mike Finnegan on Incomplete Release of Clergy Offender List

  November 11, 2013 Archbishop Nienstedt Putting Kids at Risk by Delaying Release of Names of 33 Priests with Credible Allegations of Sexual Abuse Archdiocese has known the identities of the offenders since at least 2004 Statement of Attorney Mike Finnegan (St. Paul, Minnesota) – Nearly a decade ago, the Archdiocese had in its possession the identities of the names of priests with credible allegations of sexual abuse of minors in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. Repeated requests to release these names have gone unanswered and finally, today, Archbishop John Nienstedt say…

Nov 08, 2013: Pope Francis Fiddles While Rome Burns

The old adage is that the Emperor Nero fiddled while Rome burned.  While it is highly unlikely that a Roman emperor played a fiddle, the adage is a good description of how the Bishops and the last five Popes have neglected their duty of protecting children.What is burning?The Irish church my father showed me firsthand in the early 1980’s is simply gone.While prominent Catholics have withdrawn their support, the Archbishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, John Nienstedt, has refused to speak.  Nienstedt  is silent regarding what he knew, what documents he has in the secret archives…

Nov 07, 2013: Doe 26 vs. Father Jerome Kern, Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis

At a news conference Thursday in St. Paul, clergy sexual abuse attorneys Jeff Anderson and Mike Finnegan will announce the filing of a sexual abuse lawsuit on behalf of a man in his 50s, Doe 26, naming Father Jerome C. Kern and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis as defendants.  Doe 26 was sexually abused from 12-16 years old while a parishioner at Our Lady of Grace in Edina, Minnesota. The lawsuit was filed in Ramsey County District Court and alleges the Archdiocese was negligent in allowing Kern to continue working with children despite receiving reports of misconduct as early as 1969. Kern remained in ministry until 2002.

Nov 07, 2013: Stepinac High School rocked by rape allegations against former teacher Amanda Iles

 WHITE PLAINS – A former religion teacher at an all-boys Catholic school in White Plains has been accused of raping a 14-year-old boy. Amanda Iles, who once taught at Stepinac High School, allegedly had sex with the Yonkers boy between June and July of this year. Investigators say she and the teen had several encounters at her home in Eastchester. The boy’s parents allegedly learned of the incidents through cellphone video of their son’s visits. Iles tutored him twice a week after school.Iles was employed by the school for only a year before resigning and moving to California. News 12…

Nov 06, 2013: Religious Individuals Are Not Above the Law

Today the Minnesota Supreme Court held in a four to one decision that clergy members will be held to the same standard of law as other professionals in the state, regardless of religion.  In the case State v. Wenthe, a priest had an ongoing sexual relationship with an adult parishioner under the guise of counseling.  As a result, the priest was convicted of third-degree criminal sexual conduct for violating Minnesota Statutes section 609.344, subd. 1(l)(i) which prohibits sexual conduct between a clergy member and a parishioner during a single meeting when the purpose of the meeting …

Nov 04, 2013: A Call for Truth

The news that two priests from the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis are taking leaves of absence for “misconduct” is alarming. Rather than tell the public the truth about the reasons for removing the priests, the Archdiocese continues to tell half-truths. We are alarmed about an Archdiocese that continues to mislead, deny, and conceal important information from the public…

Nov 04, 2013: Hidden priests, secret pasts: Church silent about where it houses credibly accused clerics

Norberto Nierras says he saw the man with the shock of white hair all the time along Home Avenue, a residential block that teems with children from the Catholic elementary and high schools a few hundred yards away. The man, Nierras said, came and went as he pleased, strolling the Rutherford neighborhood or sitting on a bench outside the four-story building he called home: the St. John Vianney Residence for Retired Priests.