MINNESOTA
Winona Daily News

By Jerome Christenson

For the Catholic Church in Winona, it may not be over – but perhaps it is changing.

At 2:22 p.m. Tuesday, hours after the personnel files of 14 priests “credibly accused” of sexual misconduct were made public, the Diocese of Winona issued an official statement: “Pacelli Catholic Schools today, terminated the employment of Ms. Mary Gilles, who served as a high school math teacher at Pacelli High School (Austin, Minn.). Ms. Gilles has been arrested for suspicion of criminal sexual conduct involving a minor child.”

The case of Gilles, who faces charges of sexually assaulting a minor child, has just begun. But the diocese’s involvement so far mirrors other recent behavior by the diocese in response to claims of abuse, as the diocese prepares to fight a high-profile suit headed to trial in November and readies itself for other claims that…