MINNESOTA
St. Cloud Times
Written by
Marta Jewson
Robert Ethen, who says he is a survivor of sexual abuse by a priest, and his attorneys, Jeff Anderson and Mike Bryant, are calling for Bishop Donald Kettler to release the list of 26 priests in the St. Cloud diocese accused of sexual abuse.
At a news conference Thursday Anderson said a civil lawsuit filed this week in Stearns County District Court was an “invitation” for Kettler to “step up and simply do the right thing.”
Anderson, who represents many clergy sex abuse victims, said he believes there are likely many more and their names must be publicly released to protect the community.
When given the chance to speak, Ethen dropped his head in his hands before addressing the media gathered for the news conference. The lawsuit accuses the Rev. James A. Thoennes of abusing Ethen in the mid-1960s.
“I don’t want another child hurt,” Ethen said, while explaining his decision to file the lawsuit.
Anderson has sued other dioceses in the state and lists of names were released in December by the Minneapolis-St. Paul archdiocese, Winona and Duluth dioceses, and by St. John’s Abbey after a Ramsey County judge ordered the disclosure.
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