News ReleaseJanuary 13, 2015Doe 29 Lawsuit Names Boy Scouts of America, Northern Star Council, River Hills United Methodist Church and Scoutmaster Peter StibalSystemic Failure of Boy Scouts, Council and Church to Act on Red Flags Regarding Stibal’s Danger to Boys; Perversion Files Demonstrate Their Knowledge of Risk(St. Paul, MN) – A civil lawsuit was filed today in Ramsey County by a former Boy Scout who was sexually abused by his Scoutmaster, Peter Stibal. The lawsuit names Boy Scouts of America (BSA), Northern Star Council, River Hills United Methodist Church – the troop’s char…
News & Events
On January 12, 2015, Marie Mielke (Doe 20), courageously came forward to publicly discuss her sexual abuse at the hands of Michael Keating and how top officials at the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis mishandled the case between 2006 and 2013. Keating’s once secret priest file was also released to the public. In it, internal church documents show how church officials, especially Father Kevin McDonough, chose to protect Keating over Marie and other survivors. Key documents from Keating’s file, the Amended Complaint, and other pertinent documents and statements are posted below. …
News ReleaseJanuary 8, 2015Trials Involving Notorious Priest Perpetrators Jerome Kern and Robert Thurner Set for January 26First clergy abuse cases to be tried under Child Victims Act(St. Paul, MN) – Two cases involving priests of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis will start trial on January 26, 2015. These will be the first cases to go to trial under the Minnesota Child Victims Act.Doe 23 was sexually abused as a child by Robert Thurner. Thurner abused a number of children in the Archdiocese and is listed on the Archdiocese’s website as having substantiated abuse al…
A civil lawsuit was served January 6, 2014 on behalf of a survivor who was sexually abused by Fr. James Thoennes, a priest of the Diocese of St. Cloud. The survivor, Doe 50, was an elementary school student at St. John’s in Foley, Minnesota in the early 1970s when he met Fr. Thoennes who was assigned there. The sexual abuse occurred at Thoennes’ mother’s home in Central Minnesota where he invited Doe 50 and at least 20 other children to accompany him on overnight visits.Notably, years before the abuse of Doe 50, Thoennes was busted by an official at the Diocese of St. Cloud and admitted he had…
A lawsuit was filed in Stearns County today on behalf of a survivor who was sexually abused by Fr. James Thoennes, a priest of the Diocese of St. Cloud. The survivor, Doe 50, was an elementary school student at St. John’s in Foley, Minnesota in the early 1970s when he met Fr. Thoennes who was assigned there. The sexual abuse occurred at Thoennes’ mother’s home in Central Minnesota where he invited Doe 50 and at least 20 other children to accompany him on overnight visits.Notably, years before the abuse of Doe 50, Thoennes was busted by an official at the Diocese of St. Cloud and admitted he ha…
Two lawsuits were filed on behalf of five survivors on November 20, 2014 naming the Crosier Fathers & Brothers and former priest Gerald Funcheon. The sexual abuse was alleged to have occurred at St. Odilia’s Church in Shoreview, Minnesota and Palma High School in Salinas, California.
Funcheon is believed to have abused over 50 children during his time in the priesthood and worked in several parishes and schools throughout the nation, including Indiana, Minnesota, Florida, Hawaii, and California. In March 2014 the Crosier Order released the names of 19 priests with credible allegations of child sexual abuse. To date, the Crosiers have not rel
As part of the recent settlement of the Doe 1 vs. Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis and Diocese of Winona civil lawsuit, the once-secret priest file of Gilbert Gustafson was publicly released on October 27, 2014, which included many documents that have never been public. In 1983, Gustafson was criminally convicted of sexually abusing a minor boy and was placed on probation for ten years. Following the conviction, Gustafson was allowed to remain working in the Archdiocese, collecting disability payments. One of Gustafson’s major projects was the revision and reissuance of the Archdi…
The Names of 17 Priests Accused of Child Sexual Abuse Added to Archdiocese’s List of Abusers Disclosures Part of Doe 1…
AUSTIN, Minn. — Two top administrators at a Catholic school in Austin have been fired after a high school teacher was charged with having sex with a minor student. The Diocese of Winona, which includes Austin, says Pacelli Catholic Schools President Jim Hamburge and Principal Mary Holtorf were fired after being put on leave last week. Former math teacher Mary Gilles was charged with six counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct with a 17-year-old student earlier this month. The Diocese had said the administrators’ leave didn’t have to do with the charges against the 28-year-old. Diocese…
(St. Paul, MN) – Today an adult woman, Doe 20, abused by Fr. Michael Keating as a teenager, filed an amended complaint and issued a statement expressing deep sorrow and concern about Keating’s announcement last week that he was resigning from the University of St. Thomas for his own career objectives. This courageous young woman chose to file this complaint because Keating’s resignation was not only under false pretenses, but gives the impression he is not …
September 22, 2014
Survivor of Sexual Abuse by Father Michael Keating Reacts to Keating’s Resignation out of Concern for Children
(St. Paul, MN) – Today an adult woman, Doe 20, abused by Fr. Michael Keating as a teenager, filed an amended complaint and issued a statement expressing deep sorrow and concern about Keating’s announcement last week that he was resigning from the University of St. Thomas for his own career objectives.
This courageous young woman chose to file this complaint because Keating’s resignation was not only under false pretenses, but gives the impression he is not …
Clear and Present Danger at St. John’s Abbey and
in the Diocese of St. Cloud
Father Louis Heitzer is believed to have abused young boys in every location he worked, ruining the lives of many, and was never held accountable for his actions. Ordained in 1942, Heitzer worked at several parishes during his 25+ years in the priesthood. He worked in cities including Winsted, St. Paul, Marshall, Sleepy Eye, Olivia, Winthrop, Clearwater, Heidelberg, Lexington, Union Hill, Forest Lake, Ivanhoe and Nevis, Minnesota. At least three Archbishops knew of Heitzer’s inappropriate behavior with children and numerous parents sent letters to Church officials detailing accounts of sexua…
(St. Paul, MN) – Today, Judge John Van de North issued an order bifurcating the Doe 1 v. Archdiocese of St. Paul & Minneapolis and Diocese of Winona civil lawsuit. The decision today to separately try the public nuisance claim before the negligence claim is a giant step forward for public safety and child protection. The trial for the public nuisance claim is scheduled to begin November 3, 2014, followed by the trial of the negligence claim on January 5, 2015. “The harm being done by the…
Media AdvisorySeptember 11, 2014 Diocese of Duluth Seeks to Keep Clergy Abuse Documents and Officials’ Testimony Secret in Hearing Today (Duluth, MN) – Today, at 1:00 PM in St. Louis County District Court, the Diocese of Duluth will ask the Court to issue a protective order to keep confidential the files and documents pertaining to clergy accused of sexual misconduct in the Diocese. The Duluth Diocese released a list of 17 names of priests with credible allegations of child sexual abuse in December 2013 and its request for a protective order demonstrates a step in the wrong direction.&…