Diocese of Duluth MN - BishopAccountability.org

22 Accused in This Diocese

Fr. Roland Joseph Antus

Ordained: 1962
Status: Accused

Died: 06/21/2020
Diocese: Diocese of Duluth MN

The Diocese announced in 8/2018 that Antus was credibly accused of sexually abusing a child in the 1980s at St. James Parish in Duluth. Per the diocese's list 11/26/2019, Antus was removed from ministry 5/16/2016 and his faculties revoked. He died 6/21/2020.

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Diocese of Duluth List updated 11.26.19

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Fr. Kirby Blanchard

Ordained: 1953
Status: Accused

Died: 08/11/2006
Diocese: Diocese of Duluth MN

On 12/31/2013, the diocese released its list of 17 clergy, including Blanchard, who had been credibly accused of sexual abuse of young persons while serving in the diocese and another five who had been accused while residing in the diocese at some time. Blanchard worked for 40 years in parishes in Duluth, Nisswa, Pequot Lakes and beyond, including 17 years as a chaplain at St. Joseph's Hospital in Brainerd. Retired 12/5/1993 and removed from ministry 12/27/1995. Died 8/11/2006.

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Fr. Louis Brouillard

Ordained: 1948
Status: Sued

Died: 10/10/2018
Diocese: Diocese of Duluth MN

Extern from the Agana, Guam diocese. Admitted to sexually abusing many boys on Guam as a priest and scoutmaster; active there 1940s-1981. Included on the Duluth diocese's list of credibly accused 12/31/13. Worked in the diocese 7/1981-11/12/1985 before removal from ministry. No faculties. Living in Pine City MN in 12/2013. Named in about 200 lawsuits. Complaints mostly of abuse of boys, including boys scouts and altar boys, and of at least two girls. Reportedly took nude photos of children, raped 10 boys each night in the 1970s at a Boy Scouts jamboree on Guam, engaged in group sex with children, and took several altar boys to MN and Canada where he sexually abused them. Deposed at age 96 10/31/2017-11/3/2017. Died 10/10/2018.

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Fr. Victor Lucien Chateauvert

Donate Photo

Order: MSF
Ordained: 1973
Status: Convicted

Died: 03/3/1999
Diocese: Diocese of Duluth MN

Accused of molesting two boys over a three-year period at a Bull Dog Lake parish. The boys were ages 14 and 19 when Chateauvert was arrested in 12/1992. Immediately removed from ministry and returned to Order. Sentenced to six months in jail in 2/1993. Also worked in Ottawa, Ontario Canada at Our Lady of the Visitation 1974-1978 and again in 1982. Died in 3/1999. Name included on diocese's 12/31/2013 list of 17 clergy who had been credibly accused of the sexual abuse of young persons while serving in the diocese. Included in the 5/23/2023 IL Attorney General's Report.

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Fr. Leonard Colston

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Ordained: 1980
Status: Accused

Died: 11/4/2004
Diocese: Diocese of Duluth MN

On 12/31/2013, the diocese released its list of 17 clergy, including Colston, who had been credibly accused of the sexual abuse of young persons while serving in the diocese and another five who had been accused while residing in the diocese at some time. Ordained at 55, Colston worked as a priest for six years before being removed 9/6/1986 and resigning from the diocese. He died 11/4/2004.

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Fr. Raymond Cossette

Ordained: 1955
Status: Accused

Died: 06/25/2016
Diocese: Diocese of Duluth MN

Named publicly as credibly accused by the Diocese on its list 12/31/2013. Worked in High Schools and as diocesan Superintendent of Schools. Retired 1/1/1995. Died in Brainerd 6/25/2016.

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Fr. Frederick Fox

Donate Photo

Ordained: 1952
Status: Accused

Died: 06/17/1999
Diocese: Diocese of Duluth MN

On 12/31/1203, the diocese released its list of 17 clergy, including Fox, who had been credibly accused of the sexual abuse of young persons while serving in the diocese, and another five who had been accused while residing in the diocese at some time. Fox spent the last 16-17 years of career on leave to work with the Family Services-Duluth Drug Abuse Program. Retired in 6/1/1987. Removed from ministry 1/28/1988. Died 6/17/1999.

Assignments:

Diocese of Duluth Assignment Record

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Fr. John Golobich

Ordained: 1948
Status: Accused

Died: 06/5/2011
Diocese: Diocese of Duluth MN

Included on Duluth diocese's 12/31/2013 list of 17 clergy who were credibly accused of the sexual abuse of young persons. Reprimanded at some point for inappropriate behavior involving hugging and kissing. Assigned to parishes in Hibbing, Kerrick, Lakewood, Gnesen, Tower, Silver Bay and Duluth. Retired 7/14/1993. Died 6/5/2011.

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Diocese of Duluth Assignment Record

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Fr. Ralph Goniea

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Order: OMI
Ordained: 1963
Status: Accused

Died: 03/24/2003
Diocese: Diocese of Duluth MN

Name included on 12/31/2013 list released by the Diocese of 17 clergy who had been credibly accused of the sexual abuse of young persons while serving in the diocese, and another five who had been accused while residing in the diocese at some time. Assistant Pastor of St. Jean's in Duluth 9/1/1965 - 12/22/1966. He was no longer working in the diocese when the allegation was received. Name included in 10/2014 on the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis list. Died 3/24/2003.

Assignments:

Diocese of Duluth Assignment Record

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Fr. William C. Graham

Ordained: 1976
Status: Reinstated

Diocese: Diocese of Duluth MN

[Note: Please click on William C. Graham's name above to view all the sources for this entry. If you are viewing this entry in our Duluth sort or by searching for priests named "Graham", you are viewing an abbreviated list of sources.]

Pastor of St. Michael's church in Duluth MN when placed on leave 5/23/2016 after he was accused in a lawsuit of sexually abusing a boy, age 15-16, in 1977-1978. The boy was a student at Cathedral High School, where Graham worked variously as principal, chaplain, religious studies department head, and teacher. Per the suit, the accuser's father had notified the Duluth diocese of the alleged abuse in 2010. Graham denied the allegation and filed suit in 7/2016 against his accuser. The Diocese of Duluth announced in 8/2018 that the allegations against Graham were credible. Jury trial for Graham's suit against his accuser 8/21/2018. The jury found that the accuser interfered with Graham's contractual duties when he filed his claim in 5/2016 but did not intentionally inflict distress on him. The accuser was ordered to pay Graham $13,500 in damages. On 8/26/19, the Minnesota Court of Appeals affirmed. Graham was added to the Diocese of Duluth's list of credibly accused 11/26/19. Added to the Diocese of Joliet's list 12/13/19 as "permanently removed"; Joliet listed him as working 2000-2005 at Lewis University in Romeoville in the Joliet diocese. In 2021, the Diocese of Duluth reportedly received an affidavit by a second man alleging abuse by Graham as a child. Graham was included on the Chicago archdiocese's list of credibly accused 10/14/22. In the 2004 Official Catholic Directory, Graham had been listed by the Duluth diocese as on duty outside the diocese, with an address of 5119 N. Kenmore St. in Chicago, but with no ministry in Chicago specified. Included in the 5/23/23 IL Attorney General's Report.

In 3/2024 the Vatican's Dicastery of the Doctrine of the Faith found the evidence against Graham insufficient. The Diocese of Duluth removed his name from its list of accused 3/28/24. The Diocese of Joliet removed his name from its list of accused on 5/9/24. Graham was returned to St. Michael church in Duluth 5/17/2024. Retired 6/30/2024. The Archdiocese of Chicago removed his name from its list 9/20/24. In late 2024, the IL Attorney General updated the online version of his Report to reflect: the Vatican decision to reinstate Graham; the resulting removal of his name from the Duluth, Joliet, and Chicago lists; his return to ministry; and his retirement. The IL AG chose not to remove Graham from its Report "because the standard used by the Vatican ('there does not exist moral certitude of his culpability') is inconsistent with the standards used by the dioceses when substantiating the claim against Graham ('credible,' 'reasonable to suspect,' 'more likely than not')."

The assignment history for Graham, included by the Duluth diocese in its 11/26/19 list of accused, is supplemented by the diocese's announcement of Graham's retirement, which states that he "served for over a decade as Professor and Director of the Catholic Studies Program in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, from 2004-2013." The Official Catholic Directory does not index him in those years, except in 2012 and 2013, when he is indexed and listed as an instructor at St. Scholastica. In addition to the 2000-2005 visiting professorship at Lewis University, noted in the Joliet diocese 12/13/19 list, columns by Graham in the Duluth News Tribune identify him as a visiting professor in 2014 at St. John's University in Collegeville MN in the St. Cloud diocese, after he had been a scholar in residence there. The Official Catholic Directories for the late 1990s locate Graham in residence at Manhattan's All Saints church in the New York archdiocese. In 1997, an article in the Star-Ledger identifies him as associate professor of religious studies and director of the Caldwell Pastoral Ministry Institute, established in 1996 at Caldwell College in the Newark archdiocese.

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Fr. Cornelius Kelleher

Ordained: 1956
Status: Accused

Diocese: Diocese of Duluth MN

From Ireland. Retired in 7/2012 after spending his entire career in the Duluth diocese. The diocese announced in 10/2013 that over a year earlier, in 9/2012, it had received a credible allegation that Kelleher had sexually abused a minor female during his time as pastor of St. Joseph Church in Chisholm from 1975 to 1986. His privileges as a retired priest were removed in 10/2012.

Fr. Robert William Klein

Donate Photo

Ordained: 1956
Status: Convicted

Died: 02/16/2000
Diocese: Diocese of Duluth MN

Arrested in 9/1987 and removed from ministry. Charged with four counts of criminal sexual misconduct with three boys, ages 15, 13 and 12, and one girl, age 10, between 1985-1987. Police found 700 photos in his residence, including children in bondage. He was without assignment at the time of his arrest, working as a fill-in. Pleaded not guilty in 12/1987. Found guilty 12/18/1987. Named in at least four civil suits. Died 2/16/2000. New suit filed 12/09/2013 claimed abuse in the early 1970s. Named on the diocese's list of accused priests 12/31/2013. Jury trial related to civil case filed in 2013 was to begin in 8/2016.

Assignments:

Diocese of Duluth Assignment Record

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Fr. Brian M. Lederer

Ordained: 2012
Status: Indicted

Diocese: Diocese of Duluth MN

Associate pastor, Blessed Sacrament in Hibbing. Arrested in 5/2015, held on suspicion of sexual misconduct with a minor. Released after posting bond. Charged 8/27/2015 with criminal sexual conduct with a fourth minor. All four were girls, ages 10-14, two of them sisters. Incidents were said to have occurred during 2014-2015. Lederer was also charged with possession of child pornography. A boy under age 10 told police that in a computer class, Lederer showed him videos of nude people; police found 5 images of suspected child pornography on the priest's computer. Jury trial in 6/2016; acquitted of abuse of the girls. Child pornography charge dropped in 10/2016 for "insufficient evidence" that he viewed it intentionally. Permanently removed from ministry and laicized 3/14/2020. Included on the diocese's list of credibly accused 3/28/2024.

Assignments:

Diocese of Duluth Assignment Record

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Fr. Mark J. Makowski

Ordained: 1987
Status: Guilty plea

Diocese: Diocese of Duluth MN

Charged in 1/1995 with molesting a 16-year-old boy in the parish rectory after giving the boy alcohol. Removed 1/12/1995 without privileges. In a plea bargain on 3/29/1995, pleaded guilty to fourth-degree misconduct. Sentenced to six months in jail and seven years' probation. Later became affiliated with the MN Episcopal Diocese (not as a priest) and arrangements were in place to monitor him while on church property. Named on the 12/31/2013 Duluth list of priests with credible allegations. Last known to be living in Sun City, AZ.

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Fr. Thomas Gregory Manning

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Ordained: 1944
Status: Accused

Died: 08/15/1979
Diocese: Diocese of Duluth MN

On 12/31/2013, the Diocese released its list of 17 clergy, including Manning, who had been credibly accused of the sexual abuse of young persons while working in the diocese and another five who had been accused while residing in the diocese at some time. Worked in the diocese 1944-1957. Removed from ministry 10/16/1957; left the diocese in 12/1/1957. Died 8/15/1979.

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Diocese of Duluth Assignment Record

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Fr. John Nicholson

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Ordained: 1948
Status: Settled

Died: 12/6/1988
Diocese: Diocese of Duluth MN

Settlement in 1995 with a man claiming abuse as a boy by Nicholson. At least 11 known victims. Nicholson died 12/6/1988. Another man filed suit against the diocese in 4/2003 alleging abuse beginning in 1965 when he was age 12. It settled in 9/2006 for $250K. In 6/2013 a man named Nicholson as an abuser in a first civil suit filed in St. Louis County under a new MN law suspending the civil statute of limitations for people alleging they were sexually abused as children. Included on 12/31/2013 Duluth list of priests with credible allegations.

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Diocese of Duluth Assignment Record

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Fr. Dennis Puhl

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Ordained: 1974
Status: Convicted

Died: 12/11/1995
Diocese: Diocese of Duluth MN

Convicted in 1980 of fourth degree sexual assault of a boy, age 15. Received 21 month sentence (probated) and treatment. On sick leave 11/8/1980. A 1983 suit claimed the diocese knew Puhl had received treatment in 1977 for sexual problems before abuse. He admitted in a deposition that he had sexual contact with several boys in 1977 and that he received treatment then. Suit settled in 1984. Resigned from ministry and the diocese 7/15/1986. Died 12/11/1995. Named on the 12/31/2013 Diocese of Duluth list of priests with credible allegations.

Assignments:

Diocese of Duluth Assignment Record

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Fr. Robert Reitmeier

Order: OMI
Ordained: 1971
Status: Accused

Diocese: Diocese of Duluth MN

Named publicly as credibly accused by the Oblates of Mary Immaculate in 7/2015. Included on the Duluth diocese's list in 12/2015. Assigned to Sts. Jean and Clement in Duluth 6/22/1971-9/1/1975. Also worked in Sisseton SD, St. Paul MN, St. Louis MO and Chicago IL. Left the Order in 1992. Laicized 9/8/2007. Added to the St. Paul and Minneapolis archdiocese's list 9/28/2018. Name included in 10/2022 on the Chicago archdiocese's list of credibly accused. Included in the 5/23/2023 IL Attorney General's Report.

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Oblates of Mary Immaculate Central Province List 07.06.15
Oblates of Mary Immaculate Central Province Statement 07.06.15
Diocese of Duluth List updated 12.03.15
Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis List 09.28.18
Archdiocese of Chicago List 11.17.22
IL Attorney General’s Report 05.23.23

Fr. Thomas Stack

Donate Photo

Ordained: 1944
Status: Accused

Died: 02/24/1987
Diocese: Diocese of Duluth MN

On 12/31/2013 the diocese released its list of 17 clergy, including Stack, who had been credibly accused of the sexual abuse of young persons while serving in the diocese and another five who had been accused while residing in the diocese at some time. Stack's last assignment ended 2/13/1987. He died 2/24/1987. In 3/2016 the sister of a man who died an alcoholic at age 42 in 1986 said her brother told her in the 1960s that Stack sexually abused him when he was an altar boy in the 1950s in Hoyt Lakes. She informed Bishop Schnurr in 2002.

Assignments:

Diocese of Duluth Assignment Record

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Fr. Joseph Thibaudeau

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Order: OMI
Ordained: 1896
Status: Accused

Diocese: Diocese of Duluth MN

On 12/31/2013 the diocese released its list of 17 clergy, including Thibaudeau, who had been credibly accused of the sexual abuse of young persons while serving in the diocese, and another five who had been accused while residing in the diocese at some time. Thibaudeau was assigned to St. Jean's in Duluth from 6/1910 to sometime in 1943. He died in 1946 in Manitoba, Canada. An allegation made against him at some point after his death.

Assignments:

Diocese of Duluth Assignment Record

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Fr. Stephen F. Toporowicz

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Ordained: 1941
Status: Accused

Died: 06/16/1969
Diocese: Diocese of Duluth MN

On 12/31/2013, the diocese released its list of 17 clergy, including Toporowicz, who had been credibly accused of the sexual abuse of young persons while serving in the diocese, and another five who had been accused while residing in the diocese at some time. (Name misspelled Toporowitz). Died 6/16/1969 while assigned to St. John's Parish in Virginia, MN. Allegation of abuse received at some point after his death. No further information known.

Assignments:

Diocese of Duluth Assignment Record

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Fr. Angelo Zankl

Order: OSB
Ordained: 1926
Status: Accused

Died: 07/12/2007
Diocese: Diocese of Duluth MN

On 12/31/2013, the diocese released its list of 17 clergy, including Zankl, who had been credibly accused of the sexual abuse of young persons while serving in the diocese, and another five who had been accused while residing in the diocese at some point. Spent much time at St. John Abbey before and after working in the diocese 1951-1987. Left the diocese 5/30/1987. Died 07/12/2007, age 106. Accusation received shortly before the diocese released its list.

Assignments:

Diocese of Duluth Assignment Record

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