New Ulm Diocese Sued for List of Accused Priests

Houston Chronicle
December 12, 2013

http://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/New-Ulm-diocese-sued-for-list-of-accused-priests-5057501.php

A man who claims he was molested by a priest in Granite Falls sued the Diocese of New Ulm and the Servants of the Paraclete on Thursday to force them to release their lists of clerics accused of abusing children.

The lawsuit filed in Brown County alleges the diocese and religious order were negligent in allowing the Rev. Francis Markey access to children. The plaintiff, identified as Doe 10, claims Markey abused him when he served for three months at St. Andrew's Church in 1982, when he was about 8 years old.

Doe 10 now lives in Nevada. It's the second time he has sued the diocese over Markey, attorney Mike Finnegan said. The first was dismissed for procedural reasons. This lawsuit takes advantage of a new Minnesota law extending the statute of limitations for abuse lawsuits, he said.

The lawsuit seeks a list of 12 priests who worked the diocese and an unspecified number treated by the order who've been accused of abusing children. It also requests other documents on them and damages over $50,000.

The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and St. John's Abbey released similar lists earlier this month.

"The Diocese of New Ulm deeply regrets the long-lasting and devastating effects of sexual misconduct on the part of clergy," the diocese said in a statement. "Such misconduct requires positive action on our part, and we have been strengthening our systems and procedures in order to address this grave issue."

The diocese previously said Markey was removed from St. Andrew's after parents claimed he was overly affectionate with boys. He left the diocese after that.

Servants of the Paraclete officials did not immediately return calls seeking comment. Markey underwent pedophilia treatment at its centers in England in 1975 and in New Mexico in 1981 before coming to Minnesota, the lawsuit says.

Markey was extradited from Indiana to Ireland in 2010 to face charges of raping a 15-year-old boy there in 1968, but died in 2012 while awaiting trial.