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Files of six Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis Priests Released

By Taylor Stippel January 14, 2015

The files of six priests with allegations of sexually abusing minors or inappropriate behavior with minors in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis were publicly released on January 14, 2015.

This disclosure of files was agreed upon as part of the settlement of the Doe 1 civil lawsuit in October 2014.

The list of files released today includes the following priests: Joseph Gallatin; James Murphy; Thaddeus Posey; Raymond Prybis; William Stolzman; and Mark Wehmann.

James Murphy – Murphy was charged with criminal sexual conduct in December 1980 for touching an undercover male police officer in an adult bookstore. He was sentenced to one year probation and ordered to have psychosexual testing completed. Archbishop Roach later appointed Murphy to Church of Immaculate Conception in Faribault, MN in June 1981 and then as Pastor of Church of St. Lawrence in Faribault in 1983. By 1987 there were reports of a young man living in the rectory with Murphy and Murphy was sent for treatment. Additional reports of inappropriate behavior soon surfaced and Murphy was evaluated at St. Luke Institute. He continued working without restrictions after his evaluation. In June 1988 Murphy resigned from St. Lawrence and underwent more counseling. Murphy was allowed to continue doing weekend parish work and was granted a sabbatical in Arizona in 1989 where he ministered in the Diocese of Phoenix until 1990. Murphy currently resides in Phoenix, Arizona.

Joseph Gallatin – In July 1998 Gallatin was sexually inappropriate with a youth while on a mission trip. Gallatin admitted he found it pleasurable to touch the boy and acknowledged at least one other similar event occurring when he was in college. He was sent for counseling and was reassigned to St. Bernard’s in St. Paul in September 1998. The archdiocese determined Gallatin’s abuse was a boundary violation rather than a crime. Gallatin admitted to his therapist he had an attraction to males, possibly even males as young as 12. Documents in Gallatin’s file state he never “stayed true” to his restrictions of unsupervised activity with youth and Gallatin was removed from ministry on December 29, 2013. The archdiocese restricted Gallatin from ministry in parishes, schools, or any other setting that involves responsibility for minors. He currently lives in Minneapolis.
Thaddeus Posey – Ordained in 1974 as a Capuchin, Posey worked as a professor at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul from 1993 to 2006. He also worked in several positions at numerous parishes and high schools in Denver, CO, Washington, D.C., Kansas City, MO, St. Louis, MO and New Orleans, LA. Posey was granted faculties in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis in June 1993 and after clarifying Posey’s past with the Capuchin Provincial, Posey was allowed to minister in the archdiocese. Posey was confronted with the allegations but was instructed not to answer the question about whether he sexually abused a boy. Posey continued working in Minnesota and retired from the University of St. Thomas in 2006. Posey died in 2013.
Raymond Prybis – Prybis, an Oblate of Mary Immaculate, was removed from Christ the King Retreat Center in Buffalo, MN in 2003 by his Provincial Rev. David Kalert.  In January 2004 Prybis was reassigned to Christ the King. Archbishop Flynn voiced concerns about Prybis’ reassignment because groups of students often attended the retreat center. Flynn urged Kalert to take every possible precaution with Prybis and he was to have no contact with students or any other retreatants. Prybis is alive and living in St. Paul.
William Stolzman – In 1990 Stolzman was incardinated into the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. He worked at St. Mark’s in Shakopee and was Chaplain at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Shakopee. In 1997 Stolzman was referred to the Anodos Center for assessment because there was an allegation that he had received child pornography at his residence. Allegations of abuse were received by the archdiocese in 2008 and on June 30, 2008 Stolzman retired. In 2010 the archdiocese closed the investigation and Stolzman was informed the matter was closed and resolved in his favor. Stolzman is alive and living in St. Paul.
Mark Wehmann – Wehmann was ordained in May 2003 and has worked at parishes in South St. Paul, Coon Rapids, Shakopee, Brooklyn Park, Lindstrom, and Minneapolis, MN. In 2005 a report was made to the archdiocese that Wehmann had touched a young person in a way that made the girl uncomfortable. A couple reported inappropriate behavior to Anoka County Human Services in 2006. Wehmann was sent for psychological testing and the results indicated he did not need to be permanently barred from being a pastor. Wehmann worked in at least three more parishes and more complaints of inappropriate behavior by Wehmann were reported to the archdiocese, including a report as recent as 2014.          Wehmann has been on a leave of absence since December 29, 2013 and currently lives in Minneapolis.