| Rev. Gilbert J. Gustafson Summary of Case: In 1982 the parents of a 15-year-old boy complained to the archdiocese that Gustafson had been sexually abusing their son for five years. Gustafson admitted the abuse, and that he had sexually abused two other boys. He was criminally charged and pleaded guilty to the abuse of the boy whose parents complained. Gustafson was fined $40.00 and sentenced to six months in jail. He served 4 1/2 months of the sentence. In 2000 Gustafson was accused of sexually abusing a girl for five years, beginning in 1977. Gustafson denied abusing her. His accuser in that case sued the archdiocese in 2002, and received a settlement in 2005. The archdiocese allowed him from 1983 on to work as a researcher and assistant in the chancery, to serve on an interfaith board on sexual trauma, and to serve as chaplain at a monastery for cloistered nuns. Gustafson wasn't removed from ministry until June 2002, when the U.S. bishops adopted a "zero tolerance" policy regarding the sexual abuse of children by clergy. He began receiving disability payments through the Pension Plan for Priests in 2006 because of his pedophilia. In 2007 Gustafson was quoted as saying he was "on leave". In 2009 he was hired by Christo Rey Jesuit High School as a leadership consultant, and in 2010-2011 Gustafson was involved with a leadership training program at a Minneapolis monastery for nuns. Vicar General, Rev. Kevin McDonough, said in 2014 that he believed Gustafson had between 4 and 15 victims. Ordained: 1977 Incardinated: St. Paul and Minneapolis |
|
| Start | Stop | Parish/Assignment | Town/Accusations | State | Position | Notes |
June 15, 1977 St. Paul and Minneapolis archbishop was John Robert Roach (1975-1995). |
June 15, 1982 | St. Mary of the Lake | White Bear Lake • Gustafson admitted in the early 1980s to sexually abusing three boys during his time at St. Mary's. He abused one of the boys for five years, beginning in 1977, when the boy was a 10-year-old altar boy. His parents became aware of the abuse in 1982 and told church officials. • A woman reported to the archdiocese in 2000 that Gustafson sexually abused her for five years, beginning when she was five years old in 1977. She said the abuse happened at St. Mary of the Lake school (which she attended), in her family's home, and on vacation. Gustafson denied abusing her. |
MN | 2/2, 2/3 Administrator May 31, 1978-July 7, 1978 |
St. Mary of the Lake had a school with 205-211 students.
Gustafson's female accuser received a settlement from the archdiocese in 2005.
|
| 1978 | 1979 | Archdiocesan Personnel Board | member | |||
| 1979 | 1981 | Commission for Continuing Education of Priests | St. Paul | MN | chairman | |
| June 15, 1982 | Sept. 1, 1982 | Continuing Education and Spiritual Growth for Priests | associate director | |||
Sept. 1, 1982 Washington DC archbishop was James Aloysius Hickey (1980-2000). |
Jan. 1, 1983 | Special Assignment/Catholic University | Washington | DC | student | Gustafson was sent for treatment. He pleaded guilty in 1983 to sexually abusing the boy whose parents complained. He was fined $40.00 and sentenced to six months in jail. He served 4 1/2 months of the sentence. |
| 1982 | 1987 | Special Assignment/Chancery/Catholic Charities | St. Paul | MN | pro tem At the time of his removal from ministry in 2002, Gustafson was, among other things, doing research for the archdiocese and working as an aide to administrators. |
In 1988 Bishop Carlson wrote to Archbishop Roach that Gustafson was also inclined toward "some inappropriate sexual acting out" with late adolescent girls. |
| 1983 | 1988 | St. Matthew's | St. Paul | MN | associate priest | This assignment is per the archdiocese in Dec. 2013. |
| Aug. 1,1988
Harry Joseph Flynn replaced Roach as St. Paul and Minneapolis archbishop (1995-2008). |
May 31, 2002 | St. Peter's | Mendota | MN | 2/2, 3/3, 2/3 in residence |
St. Peter's had a religious education program with 579-333 students. Archbishop Roach pushed to have Gufstason returned to ministry, saying in 1990 “I want him back in a parish. He has received and complied with far more treatment than anyone else, and it seems to me he has done it well.” The boy Gustafson was convicted of abusing for 5 years deteriorated psychologically and behaviorally. He contracted AIDs and, as he was dying, his father asked former vicar general Rev. Kevin McDonough for financial help for his son's hospice care and medical bills. He was refused. Gustafson's victim died at age 28, in 1995. |
| 2002 | Interfaith Sexual Trauma Institute, St. John's Abbey and University | Collegeville | MN | board member | Gustafson gave talks as an expert on sex abuse to Catholic and Protestant clergy groups. Archbishop Flynn stated that Gustafson's work was making "a contribution to the Church and to society". |
|
| 2002 | Poor Clares Monastery | Bloomington | MN | chaplain | This assignment is per news reports. Gustafson is not indexed beyond the 2002 Directory. He was removed from ministry in May 31, 2002 |
|
2002 John Clayton Nienstedt succeeded Flynn |
2014 | St. Paul | MN | In 2007 Gustafson was reported by a news outlet as "on leave" and receiving a stipend from the Church. The archdiocese helped Gustafson establish a leadership consulting business, and referred clients to him. They included Pax Christi Church in Eden Prairie and the University of St. Thomas. A woman who attended a National Ministry Summit in Florida in 2008 was outraged to see Gustafson there, and wrote a letter of complaint to Archbishop Nienstedt . In 2009 he was hired by Christo Rey Jesuit High School as a leadership consultant. The school's president knew of his sexual abuse history. Gustafson is shown on the website for the Visitation Monastery in Minneapolis as having been involved in a 2010-2011 leadership training program. His history was known by the Monastery's sisters. In 2014 it was revealed that, in addition to his archdiocesan provided living expenses, since 2006 Gustafson was receiving disability payments, because of his pedophilia . |
Sources: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1978-2002) • Church Not Ignoring Abuse, Flynn Tells Local Catholics By Stephen Scott, Saint Paul Pioneer Press, May 24, 2002
|