Diocese asked to provide more names of priests (02/19/2014)

By Sarah Squires
Winona Post
February 19, 2014

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A Ramsey County judge ruled in January that the Winona Diocese and Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis must disclose by Tuesday, February 18 lists of priests accused of molesting children since 2004.

The deadline comes on the heels of the December release of names of diocesan priests “credibly accused” of sexual abuse, which made public the names of 14 former Winona Diocese priests who were included in a census compiled by the John Jay College in 2002. The latest court ruling would require the diocese to disclose lists of priests facing any sex abuse accusations; the names would be released only to the plaintiff attorney and court itself.

When the Winona Post went to press late Tuesday afternoon, attorneys on both sides of the issue were still waiting for a motion filed by the diocese with the Court of Appeals to see if the deadline would be extended or the ruling overturned.

Winona Diocese Director of Mission Advancement Joel Hennessy said on Tuesday that he did not believe the list would be released that day, but added that diocesan attorneys were still mulling the issue, watching the clock, and hoping the Court of Appeals would take up the motion.

The ruling comes amid a barrage of legal action against dioceses in Minnesota following the passage of the Minnesota Child Victims Act last May, which lifted the statute of limitations for civil suits involving alleged sex abuse by clergy.

Winona Diocesan officials have argued that even the list of “credibly” accused priests included accusations against clergy who were never convicted of a crime, and in many cases, were deceased or otherwise unable to defend themselves. The most recent accusations against priests whose names are ordered to be released, says Hennessy, are “not required to be ‘credible’.” “That’s a concern.”

The John Jay College of Criminal Justice study was compiled following investigative reports by The Boston Globe alleging abuses. In response to the stories, dioceses and churches across the nation adopted child protection reforms in 2002 and commissioned the college to conduct a census on clergy abuse reports in the U.S. The list of “credibly accused” priests generated by the study included individuals reported by dioceses that were directed to report all allegations that “were not withdrawn or known to be false.”

The plaintiff in the lawsuit that prompted the ruling compelling the disclosure of the new list is identified as John Doe 1, who alleges he was sexually abused by former priest Thomas Adamson in the 1970s while Adamson worked as a priest at St. Thomas Aquinas in St. Paul. His attorney, Mike Finnigan, said the reluctance of the Winona Diocese and Archdiocese to release the newest list of names to his office and the court was troubling.

Hennessy said that the Winona Diocese has not only adopted the Catholic Church’s 2002 charter on the protection of young people, but also began implementing its own heightened child protection measures as early as 1987. It is mandatory, now, in the Winona Diocese, that all abuse claims be given to law enforcement officials for investigation. “We’re abiding by a self-imposed level of security that’s higher than really even the mandatory reporting laws in Minnesota,” he said. “The big message is that our first priority is always the protection of youth and young persons. There’s zero tolerance for child sexual abuse.”

Winona County District Court hears case

A lawsuit filed against the Winona Diocese was filed in Winona County District Court last year, alleging “Doe 16” was sexually abused by Thomas Adamson in 1963 and 1964 while he worked as a priest or Catholic school educator in the Winona Diocese. The suit alleges diocesan officials “learned or should have learned” that Adamson allegedly molested boys, but he was still assigned to posts in which he would have contact with children.

Similar to the Ramsey County John Doe 1 case, the Doe 16 case included motions from the plaintiff compelling the Winona Diocese to release a list naming priests accused of abuse, in this case, going back decades. The plaintiffs have also requested what they call “secret files” on the accused priests, documents the diocese simply calls personnel files. Winona Diocesan attorneys have asked that the request for the documents be dismissed. Court hearings are scheduled for this fall.