ST. PAUL (MN)
Pioneer Press
May 31, 2018
By Sarah Horner
On a hot summer’s day in 1969, Heutmaker, then 14, and one of his peers were sexual abused by a priest from the Church of St. Mark in St. Paul.
Although the Rev. Jerome Kern’s conduct was reported to Catholic Church staff by his parents, it wasn’t until now, Heutmaker said, that he felt some measure of justice.
“It feels really good to be here today,” Heutmaker, now 62, said tearfully amid a crowd of survivors of clergy sexual abuse gathered in a downtown St. Paul law office Thursday afternoon. “Never in my life did I think it would come to this, 49 years later. … I am extremely grateful.”
Led by their attorneys, including Jeff Anderson, the group gathered to announce a historic $210 million settlement in the bankruptcy battle between 450 survivors of clergy sexual abuse and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.
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