MINNESOTA
Sun Current
By Andrew Wig
May 27, 2015
A Richfield priest is on leave after an allegation of sexual abuse surfaced.
Rev. Gerald Dvorak, 61, a pastor at St. Peter’s Church in Richfield, is the subject of a “credible allegation” regarding the sexual abuse of a minor in the 1970s, according to a written statement from Archbishop John Nienstedt issued May 19.
Dvorak has been pastor at St. Peter’s since 2011 and was canonical administrator at Blessed Trinity Catholic School from 2011 to 2014, according to a list of Dvorak’s ministerial history provided by the Archdiocese of Minneapolis and Saint Paul.
That list dates Dvorak’s history with the ministry back to 1978, when he was a teaching parish seminarian at Saint Matthew’s Catholic Church in Saint Paul. The allegations pertain to Dvorak’s role as a seminarian, according to a letter to St. Peter’s parishioners signed by Deacon Mark Johanns. However, Nienstedt’s statement does not indicate the location to which the allegation refers.
But Nienstedt’s statement did explain what the allegation against Dvorak means.
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