US archdiocese names 30 priests linked to child sexual abuse

Tuesday, December 10th, 2013

The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis has released the names of 30 priests it believes sexually abused children between 1950 and 2013.

The archdiocese also released the names of four other priests who had been included on an earlier list, but Church officials now say those four should not have been included.

Seven of the priests named were not previously known to the public as accused abusers. Five of those seven are still living. Others, such as the Rev. Robert Kapoun, are already well known through lawsuits and media coverage. About one-third of the priests on the list are dead.

The accused priests have served at nearly half — 92, in total — of the 188 parishes in the archdiocese, according to an email sent to priests by vicar general Rev. Charles Lachowitzer, the archbishop’s top deputy.

The archdiocese released the names on its website and in the print edition of The Catholic Spirit newspaper, along with each priest’s birth year, ordination year, parish assignment history, current status and city of residence. For the deceased priests, it also released the year of death.

The disclosure comes three days after a judge ordered the archdiocese to release the names of all the priests on a sealed list of clergy with credible allegations of child sexual abuse against them. The 33 names had been disclosed to attorneys in a 2009 clergy sexual abuse lawsuit, but a judge ordered they remain private.

The naming of the priests will, however, not end the pressure on the Catholic Church in Minnesota, said a victims’ advocates.

“Victims are already asking, ‘Why isn’t the cleric who hurt me on the newly disclosed list?’ ” said David Clohessy, national director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.

For some victims and church members, the moment was cathartic, but more wrenching disclosures are coming.

Another list is expected to go public this week, when the Diocese of Winona said it will unseal at least 13 names of accused priests.

“There is increased pressure, and increased permission, for other bishops to follow what has happened here,” said Mike Finnegan, an attorney at Anderson Advocates, the St. Paul firm handling abuse cases.

Sources

MPR News
Star Tribune
Image: MPR News