MINNESOTA
Pioneer Press
By Emily Gurnon
egurnon@pioneerpress.com
POSTED: 07/09/2014
Newly released documents about a local priest disclose that the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis placed Joseph Wajda in a top position on the marriage tribunal after it moved him among eight parishes.
Those decisions came after Wajda, who was ordained in 1973, was accused a month into his priesthood of propositioning a boy for sex and continued to be the subject of allegations.
Wajda was accused of making a teenage boy walk around his office naked and masturbate, paying minors for sex, buying expensive presents for teens and taking boys to saunas, according to formerly secret documents released by the archdiocese in a court case.
The documents were made public Wednesday by attorney Jeffrey Anderson. Anderson represents the plaintiff in the case of Doe 1, a lawsuit filed against former priest Thomas Adamson last year.
Now 67 and living in Minneapolis, Wajda was removed from the ministry in 2003. He has repeatedly denied molesting children. The archdiocese has “requested that the Holy See remove him from the clerical state,” according to a written statement Wednesday by Vicar General Charles Lachowitzer.
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.