Stearns County Judge to Rule on Church Abuse Lawsuit

By David Unze
St Cloud Times
October 24, 2014

http://www.sctimes.com/story/news/local/2014/10/24/stearns-county-judge-rule-church-abuse-lawsuit/17864605/

A Stearns County judge will decide whether a clergy sex abuse victim can continue to pursue a lawsuit against the Diocese of St. Cloud, including a claim that the diocese is a public nuisance for allegedly not telling the public what it knows about its abusive priests.

A hearing Friday in Stearns County included arguments about the public nuisance allegations used by clergy abuse survivors in the Twin Cities to eventually gain access to thousands of pages of documents on numerous priests.

The lawsuit in Stearns County was filed on behalf of Bob Ethan, who also sued the diocese in 1993 and settled in 1995.

Ethan sued the diocese again after the Legislature passed the Child Victims Act, opening a three-year window for victims to sue in cases that are so old they wouldn't normally have been allowed to proceed in court.

Ethan was abused by Rev. James Thoennes, a diocesan priest who has been removed from priestly duties by the diocese.

The nuisance claim includes allegations that the public hasn't been told enough about Thoennes, including that he lives in St. Cloud and the extent of restrictions on where he can go within Minnesota, said Ethan's attorney, Jeff Anderson.

Seventh Judicial District Court Judge Sarah Hennesy will decide whether to allow the nuisance claim to continue.

The diocese has asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit.

The diocese believes the suit shouldn't proceed because Ethan agreed in 1995 to not pursue any future legal claims against the diocese, according to Thomas Wieser, attorney for the diocese.

Anderson said that Ethan isn't suing because of the abuse the happened in the 1960s but for what he perceived as the shortcomings of the diocese since the settlement in protecting children from Thoennes and any other priests who've offended and who haven't been publicly identified.

Wieser countered by telling Hennesy that the diocese in 2003 acknowledged that there are 26 diocesan priests who have credible allegations against them.

All but Thoennes are dead, Wieser said.

The public nuisance claim has been rejected in lawsuits against four of the six Minnesota dioceses that Anderson has sued.

In the Twin Cities, it was allowed and led to the disclosure of numerous priest files and eventually a settlement of one case last week.

Attorneys for the diocese said Friday that it was too early in the Ethan case to discuss a settlement like the one announced in the Twin Cities.