WISCONSIN
SNAP Wisconsin
Archdiocese removes priest from ministry due to report of sexual assault of a minor
Fr. Mark Molling is pastor of St. Paul Parish in Genesee Depot
Statement by John Pilmaier, SNAP Wisconsin Director
CONTACT: 414.336.8575
In an e-mail message today (see below), Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome Listecki announced that Fr. Mark Molling, pastor of St. Paul Parish in Genesee Depot, was being removed from ministry this weekend due to a report of sexual assaulting a minor. Listecki states that the report was obtained through the Chapter 11 bankruptcy claims process and that the diocesan review board will investigate the matter. The alleged offense or offenses occurred in the mid 1990’s and appear to be time barred from prosecution under the old criminal statues for child sex abuse. Molling has worked in the Wisconsin Juvenile Corrections Division as resident chaplain at Ethan Allen School for Boys in Wales.
A total of 570 victim claims have been filed with the Federal Bankruptcy Court, each claim being a criminal report of sexual abuse. Molling appears to be one of the at least 100 unidentified sexual offenders who committed at least 8,000 instances of sexual abuse against children in the archdiocese, as was reported in bankruptcy court last month. Why Molling was removed from ministry while other alleged offenders named in the bankruptcy reports have not, remains unclear. In the past, sometimes the archbishop removes a priest from ministry before a determination is made by the DA on the criminal statute, sometimes not.
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