Former Winona Priest Accused of Sexual Abuse Barred from All Diocese Parishes and Schools

Winona Daily News
March 16, 2012

http://www.winonadailynews.com/news/local/article_69dcb154-6f1b-11e1-87f6-0019bb2963f4.html

Thomas Adamson, a former priest of the Diocese of Winona named in several lawsuits alleging sexual abuse of young boys, has been barred from all diocese parishes and schools.

In a statement released this week, the diocese said it had “communicated directly to Mr. Adamson that he is not welcome or permitted to enter onto the premises of any parishes or schools within the Diocese of Winona.”

The action came in response to Adamson’s relocation to Rochester earlier this year. According to a spokesman, the diocese learned of Adamson’s move in early February, and on Feb. 8 sent a letter and current photograph of Adamson to all Rochester schools and parishes alerting them to his presence in the community.

Adamson, 78, a native of Byron, Minn., was ordained a priest in 1958. His first assignment was in Winona as a full-time teacher at Cotter High School with residence and pastoral duties at St. Casimir’s Parish. He was assigned assistant principal of St. Adrian’s High School, Adrian, Minn., in May 1961. Allegations of Adamson’s sexual involvement with young boys date from the early 1960s. In 1975, Adamson was transferred to the Archdiocese of St. Paul after a number of abuse complaints had been brought to the attention of church officials in the Winona diocese.

In 1975, Bishop Loras Watters wrote a psychologist treating Adamson to say “I am convinced he doesn’t even begin to appreciate the numbers of people in at least five different communities across the entire Diocese who have finally pieced together incidents occurring over a 15 year span. ... You would only have to struggle through the painful sessions I’ve had with heart-broken and bewildered parents who only now have come to discover the source of some of the problems of their sons.”

However, Adamson would continue in the active priesthood until 1984, and it wasn’t until 1989 that then-Winona Bishop John Vlazney pressed for Adamson’s laicization and ordered him to cease celebrating Mass, administering the sacraments or representing himself as a Catholic priest.

While Adamson never faced criminal abuse charges — the statute of limitations had expired — he was named in three suits settled out of court, and a fourth suit brought against the Diocese of Winona and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis was decided in favor of the complainant.