MINNESOTA
Fox 9
ST. PAUL, Minn. (KMSP) – A man who claims he was sexually abused by a Minnesota priest in 1971 is filing a lawsuit against Bishop Michael Hoeppner and the Diocese of Crookston, alleging the bishop coerced him into signing a document stating the abuse never happened. St. Paul, Minnesota attorney Jeff Anderson says this the first time a bishop has been sued for coercion in the United States.
According to the civil complaint filed in Polk County, Minnesota, Ronald Vasek was exploring whether to become a deacon in 2010 when he reported the alleged abuse to Bishop Hoeppner.
According to court documents, Vasek told Bishop Hoeppner that Fr. Roger Grundhaus had sexually abused him in Columbus, Ohio when he was 16 years old. Hoeppner allegedly asked Vasek “how he was going to proceed with the accusation” and whether he intended to formally report the abuse or press charges, adding that “it would be detrimental to Msgr. Grundhaus and his reputation in the Diocese if the accusations were made public.”
Vasek claims the bishop recommended he keep quiet, and that his future as a deacon and his son’s future as a priest in the Diocese of Crookston would be in jeopardy if he went public with his allegations.
Bishop Hoeppner allegedly gave Vasek a letter authored by Msgr. Michael Foltz, Vicar General of the Diocese of Crookston, which “essentially retracted” his statements regarding the sexual abuse involving Grundhaus and “indicated that the abuse in Ohio never happened.”
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