Woman in Priest Sex Abuse Case Says Former Vicar General Covered up Accusations
By Katie Kather
A Chisago County woman previously identified as Doe 20 in a clergy sexual abuse case against the Rev. Michael Keating has come forward. Marie Mielke, 29, filed a lawsuit in October 2013 against Keating, the archdiocese and former Vicar General Kevin McDonough. Mielke told reporters Monday that her goal in telling her story is to help other victims of abuse step forward and to help ensure abusers are held accountable. "Hiding something that isn't your fault gets exhausting," Mielke said. She said she first reported to archdiocese officials in 2006 that she had been molested from 1997 to 2000 by Keating, who joined the University of St. Thomas faculty in 2005. The abuse began when she was about 12, Mielke said. Keating was 30 years her senior and in the seminary at the time. Keating, now 58, had been a frequent guest at her family's Chisago County home. He was placed on leave after Mielke filed her lawsuit. He resigned Sept. 16. Mielke called the abuse the greatest betrayal of her life. "It almost killed me. I felt so ashamed I wanted to die," she said. The Chisago County sheriff's office investigated Mielke's claims in 2006, but the county attorney's office declined to file charges. By the time Anderson's office became involved in 2013, it was too late to be a prosecutable case, Anderson said. Keating has denied that he sexually abused any minor. Mielke's statement came as new documents were released in the case against Keating. The documents show that a Clergy Review Board in 2007 recommended that Keating be monitored and restricted in ministry after Mielke came forward, but neither step was taken, Anderson said. The documents also show former Vicar General Kevin McDonough intervened to help Keating perform a wedding out of state. He was originally denied the request by then-Chancellor of Canonical Affairs Jennifer Haselberger because it would have required a signature that Keating was in good moral standing.
An email from McDonough to Keating said Haselberger "does not know how to make a mental reservation." He added, "Every priest in the world has been falsely accused by some delusional person at one time or another." The phrase "make a mental reservation" refers to telling a lie for the good of the church, Anderson said. "What this file shows is a failure of the archdiocese to believe a survivor," he said. He called the contents of the newly released documents alarming, disturbing and harmful. McDonough served for 17 years as vicar general, or top deputy, to the archbishop and for part of that time as chief point person on priest sexual abuse. The archdiocese could not be reached for comment but released a statement about the case Monday afternoon: "Rev. Michael Keating has been on a leave of absence from the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis since October 2013, which means he is not exercising any priestly ministry. His leave of absence came after he was named in a lawsuit regarding claims that he had sexually abused a minor before he was a priest. Father Keating will remain on leave until the archdiocesan Clergy Review Board can complete an internal review of this matter, which is still ongoing. The assessment by the Clergy Review Board will be comprehensive and include a revisit of decisions made in the past, in light of any new information that is produced as a result of the civil lawsuit and the archdiocese's prevailing commitment of placing victims first." Katie Kather can be reached at 651-228-5006. Follow her at twitter.com/ktkather.
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