Democratic candidate Matt Flynn's statements on pedophile priests undermined by 1992 case

By Daniel Bice
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
August 8, 2018

https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/investigations/daniel-bice/2018/08/08/dem-candidate-matt-flynns-statements-pedophile-priests-undermined/917764002/

Matt Flynn, Democratic candidate for Wisconsin governor.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Matt Flynn has pleaded ignorance about the transfer of pedophile priests during his 15 years as lawyer for the Milwaukee Archdiocese. 

"I did not know about it," Flynn said of priest reassignments on a video produced by his campaign. "I was not involved in it. I was not asked about it. I did not condone it."

His boss at the time, then-Archbishop Rembert Weakland, went even further, saying no lawyers were involved in the reassignments.

Strong words.

But a 26-year-old case raises serious doubts about each of those claims. 

In an August 1992 letter, the Rev. R. Thomas Venne, vicar for clergy in the Milwaukee Archdiocese at the time, contacted Flynn about the transfer of Father Raymond Adamsky in response to allegations of abuse.Flynn worked for the archdiocese from 1989 to 2004.

"Bishop (Richard) Sklba suggested that I send a copy of the new assignment for Fr. Ray Adamsky for your records," Venne wrote Flynn. "We hope this will be satisfactory to all involved. 

"Thanks for meeting with us. It was good to have an update on everyone."

So, at the very least, Flynn was aware of the reassignment of a priest with a long history of abuse, despite his claim that he had no knowledge of such moves. Adamsky was transferred 11 times during his work for the church. 

But it's possible he had a bigger role in the case, according to a summary of the case posted on the archdiocese's website. 

Adamsky, who was accused of molesting children beginning in the 1960s, had his ministry at St. Joseph Catholic Church restricted by Sklba in 1991. Adamsky, however, was allowed to continue to serve as priest at the church and have access to St. Joseph School. 

Catholic officials removed Adamsky from St. Joseph's in the summer of 1992 after two more children complained to their principal about the priest's "rough physical contact" with the pair. 

The archdiocese's website explains what happened next: 

"Negotiations between lawyers took place about what kind of assignment would be agreeable, and it was determined that chaplain work at a retirement home would be possible."

Adamsky was then named chaplain at St. Monica Retirement Home in Racine, retiring after just a year. He settled with the archdiocese for $20,000. Rather than seeking to have him defrocked, then-Archbishop Timothy Dolan asked church officials in 2001 that Adamsky be allowed to have a life of prayer and penance. The request was granted. 

At the very least, again, the website's summary of the case runs counter to the statement put out by Flynn from Weakland, who oversaw Adamsky during most of his ministry. Weakland said in his statement regarding reassignments of abusive priests: "The ultimate determination was made by the Archbishop. The lawyers were not involved."

They certainly were here, even if they are unnamed. Flynn was the chief attorney for the archdiocese at the time. 

Peter Isely, a founding member of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, said the web posting shows Flynn and Weakland are lying — "as if any more proof was needed." Isely has been a frequent critic of Flynn, whose campaign has been dogged by complaints over his work for the archdiocese. 

"The recent statements made by Matt Flynn and former Archbishop Weakland regarding the transfers of abusive priests are in direct contradiction of the statements found on the Milwaukee Archdiocese website which demonstrate a high level of involvement on behalf of the legal  team in the transfer of Raymond Adamsky, a known abuser of children," Isely said.

Bryan Kennedy, campaign manager for Flynn, said in a statement from the candidate that Flynn is not contradicting himself. The meeting referred to in the 1992 letter, according to Flynn's statement, was not about Adamsky's transfer but about legal claims regarding Adamsky and others. 

"Such meetings as mentioned in the letter were to discuss all pending claims and updates on litigation, not assignments," Kennedy said. "Matt was not asked about a transfer or for input on reassignments."

Kennedy emphasized that Adamsky was moved to a retirement home in 1992 to keep him away from children while the archdiocese investigated abuse claims. The priest was then removed from all canonical responsibilities, Kennedy said. 

The Flynn aide did not address the statement on the archdiocese's website, which the Journal Sentinel discovered while reviewing the Adamsky case. Isely was also unaware of the online case history. 

Also interesting is a court record regarding the handling of abuse allegations against Father Joseph Collova in 1993. 

Sklba, then a bishop, wrote that Elizabeth Piasecki, a psychologist who headed the archdiocese's program for victims of sexual abuse, called to express "great concern" over Collova's possible contact with young people in his parish, St. Rita Catholic Church in Milwaukee. 

"Although she states that Attorney Matt Flynn was unwilling to authorize any investigation, a subsequent conversation with Matt himself resulted in Matt's approval for the investigation currently being conducted by Sr. Mary Howard Johnstone," Sklba wrote.

Sklba added that the investigation was being done "with the understanding that it was not an extensive inquiry in the parish but contact with a group of young adults with whom Joe had been socially active over the past 10 years." 

Later that month, Collova was placed on leave and members of his church were told of the allegation that he had sexually abused a teen. He previously had been accused of sexually abusing a 1-year-old. He also told Piasecki that he had been in bed with a minor and that a young male had moved into the rectory with him.

Eventually, he was excommunicated. He died in 2005. 

Kennedy, the campaign manager for Flynn, focused on the fact that the archdiocese conducted a probe, not on Flynn's initial reluctance. 

"The document indicates Matt ordered an internal investigation," Kennedy said. "The document says nothing about transferring him. And Matt's past statement is consistent." 

In November 1994, Flynn is listed in court records as being in a meeting with Weakland, Sklba, Piasecki and Father Mike Krejci, who had just been accused in a letter from another priest of sexually abusing a child. Several days later, Krejci was sent to a psychiatric hospital in New Orleans. 

Krejci was cleared to return to pastoral duties two years later, when he was named pastor at St. Theresa Catholic Church in Eagle. He admitted fondling two young boys on a camping trip, and several others came forward to accuse him of molesting them. Krejci was later stripped of his clerical status. 

Kennedy, again, said the records do not indicate that the meeting involving Flynn had to do with a reassignment of Krejci. The decision regarding the priest's future was made at a meeting the next day, Kennedy said. Flynn was not present at the second meeting. 

"Matt was involved because there were allegations made, so Matt was in that meeting making sure policy is being followed," Kennedy said. 

Brian Reisinger, a senior adviser for Republican Gov. Scott Walker, said these documents indicate the governor was right to call on Flynn to drop out of the race. 

One of the seven other Democratic gubernatorial candidates — little-known political newcomer Josh Pade — joined Walker in urging Flynn to withdraw. The other six didn’t respond or refused to ask Flynn to get out.

"If proof that Flynn advised pedophile priests didn’t eat at their consciences, these documents certainly should," Reisinger said.

Isely put the matter bluntly: "One can either believe what Weakland and Flynn now claim they did or did not do together, or you can read what they actually did (in court records) as it was happening in real time."