MINNESOTA
WDIO
By: Alan Hoglund
ahoglund@wdio.com
A member of an organization that supports victims of abuse by priests is demanding answers from the Diocese of Duluth. This comes after a priest at St. Michael’s Catholic Church was suspended when the diocese learned about allegations of abuse from nearly 25 years ago.
“Whether or not this man is guilty, that’s up for a court to decide,” Verne Wagner, the Northern Minnesota director of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP), said at a news conference Monday afternoon.
Wagner is talking about Father Timothy Backous. Backous is accused of abusing a child at St. John’s Abbey in Collegeville, Minnesota in 1990. According to the Diocese of Duluth, Backous relocated to Duluth to work at Essentia Health. He has also been serving a roll at St. Michael’s on the weekends.
For now Backous’ work at both locations is on hold.
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