By Patrick B. Anderson
Winona Daily News
December 3, 2010
http://www.winonadailynews.com/news/local/article_f1bda9c2-fe9a-11df-8d3b-001cc4c03286.html
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| Bob Schwiderski of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests held a press conference Thursday outside the Diocese of Winona's Pastoral Center on Sanborn Street to speak against Winona Bishop John Quinn for seeking money for diocesan legal costs from an alleged child sex abuse victim. (Andrew Link/Winona Daily News) |
A national organization for victims of clergy sex abuse condemned Catholic leaders Thursday in Winona for trying to recoup legal fees from a man who says he was abused by a former Winona priest.
Bob Schwiderski, state director of the Survivors Network of those Abused By Priests, lashed out at the Winona Diocese and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis for together seeking about $132,000 from Jim Keenan.
Keenan successfully sued the diocese and archdiocese claiming Thomas Adamson abused him between 1980 and 1982 while Adamson served at a church in Burnsville. The case was later overturned because the statute of limitations had passed.
The archdiocese and diocese then asked a judge to make Keenan pay their legal fees.
On Tuesday, the local diocese told the Winona Daily News it would follow the example of the archdiocese, which pledged to "delay its original motion asking for recovery of court costs." But in response to questions Thursday, the diocese issued a one-sentence statement that appeared to soften comments it made earlier in the week.
"When the plaintiff filed for bankruptcy, all related actions were automatically stayed," the statement read.
The diocese refused to answer follow-up questions about the lawsuit's status. Court records show the archdiocese and diocese have not withdrawn their request to seek attorneys' fees.
Keenan's attorney, Jeff Anderson, said the statement is a delay tactic and a deflection of responsibility. He called the Winona Diocese's pursuit of $68,000 in legal costs from Keenan "hurtful, punishing, dubious and morally reprehensible."
"They're trying to make it look like they're doing something kind or gentle," Anderson said. "And this is an iron fist."
Adamson served the Winona diocese from 1958 to 1975 and first admitted to sexually abusing boys in 1964.
Keenan, 43, was listed as John Doe 76C in court records until he shed anonymity earlier this week. The gesture scared him at first, but he quickly found freedom in his new voice, he said.
"I felt a sense of release and strength," he said. "A sense of ‘I don't have to be afraid of this entity.'"
Keenan, a child psychologist, filed for bankruptcy in June after a failed attempt to open a resort for autistic children.
He doesn't give much merit to the diocese's decision to "stay" their efforts because of his poor financial state, he said.
"To me, they're using that as a way to save face and back out," he said. "The flip side of that coin is, if I hadn't filed bankruptcy they would still be filing suit."
The archdiocese and the local diocese have yet to take legal action to withdraw their request for fees, Anderson said. Their claims are meaningless until the motions are tossed out, he said.
"That's - as far as were concerned - a P.R. stunt," he said. "They're putting the hammer down on this guy."
Contact: patrick.anderson@lee.net
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