MINNESOTA
MinnPost
[Press conference video via Jeff Anderson & Associates]
[(St. Paul, MN) – Jeff Anderson and Associates sincerely apologizes for the incorrect depiction of Father Patrick J. Ryan at its Press Conference on December 5, 2013. At the conference and included in the media kit, our firm depicted Father Patrick J. Ryan on “The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis’ List of 34.” The image of Father Patrick J. Ryan was mistakenly confirmed as the Father Patrick Joseph Ryan contained on the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis’ List. There are no known allegations of sexual abuse against the Father Patrick J. Ryan pictured on December 5, 2013. When told of the potential mistake, we immediately alerted all media personnel present at the press conference.]
By Beth Hawkins
If church leaders had taken action in the wake of Father Thomas Adamson’s first admission that he sexually abused a young boy, Jim Keenan would likely never have met him, much less ended up one of the priest’s dozens of victims.
“There is no reason our paths would have to cross in a ministerial way,” a tearful Keenan said Thursday at a press conference held hours after the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis was compelled to release a list of priests “credibly accused” of abusing minors.
According to court filings, Adamson’s first documented transgression took place in 1964. Keenan was born in 1967. Before Keenan was molested at the age of 13, the priest had confessed to perhaps dozens of inappropriate sexual encounters with boys.
Adamson’s is the very first name on the alphabetized list, which Keenan and his attorneys, Jeff Anderson and Mike Finnegan, have been seeking for a decade. Five years ago, the Savage man turned down a financial settlement, saying he wouldn’t accept any agreement that did not include the list’s release.
“It’s the right step, but it’s a tiny step,” Keenan said. “They have to follow the rules like you and I.”
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.