MINNESOTA
Winona Daily News
Leslie Hittner
“I looked at it more as a sin than a crime.” — Thomas Adamson
In reality it was both. But thanks to Bishop Fitzgerald, Bishop Watters, Bishop Harrington, Archbishop Roach, and other members of our Catholic Church hierarchy – members of the Diocese of Winona and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis – it became much more.
When confronted by a man who claimed his three brothers and others had been abused by Father Adamson, Bishop Watters is reported to have responded that “little boys heal.”
When informed by another priest that Adamson had had sex with a little boy, Archbishop Roach simply told the priest to “handle it” and then the archdiocese began to “posture itself in such a way that any publicity will be minimized.”
Reports from relatives were trivialized and the behavior was covered up and Father Adamson was pushed to and fro throughout the diocese.
Reports from priests led to decisions to coverup the conduct and Father Adamson was pushed to and fro throughout the archdiocese, with a cautionary measure to ensure that his assignments were not in parishes that were close to the Diocese of Winona.
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