MINNESOTA
The Journal
March 30, 2016
By Clay Schuldt – Staff Writer , The Journal
ST. PAUL – After months of dialogue, the law firm of Jeff Anderson & Associates and the Diocese of New Ulm jointly disclosed on Tuesday the names of 16 former priests who were mutually identified as being credibly accused of sexual abuse of a minor while they were assigned as priests.
The list includes these priests – Cletus Altermatt, Dennis Becker, Gordon Buckley, Robert Clark, J. Vincent Fitzgerald, John Gleason, Joseph Louis Heitzer, Rudolph Henrich, Harry Majerus, Francis Markey, William Marks, John Murphy, David Roney, Douglas Schleisman, Michael Skoblik and Charles Stark.
Thirteen of the accused have died, and all but one was previously named in media reports. Fitzgerald, Heitzer, Henrich and Majerus had credible accusations made against them while working in another diocese, but had no credible accusations made against them while serving in the New Ulm Diocese.
In conjunction with release of the list, attorney Jeff Anderson & Associates held a press conference in St. Paul on Tuesday morning. During the event two women, Kim Schmit and Lori Stoltz, spoke on the abuse they experienced from Roney.
Schmit said that as a youth in 1968 Roney forced her into a corner and abused her after school. She reported the incident to her parents who then complained to the diocese. Schmit’s family was informed actions would be taken against Roney; however, the diocese simply relocated him to another parish where he continued to abuse other victims. Schmit later became friends with Stoltz, and both were horrified to learn they had been abused by the same priest despite diocese promises.
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