Diocese of New Ulm Requests Nuisance Claim to Be Dismissed

By Tyler Utzka
Keyc MINNESOTA
January 6, 2014

http://www.keyc.com/story/24378368/diocese-of-new-ulm-requests-nuisance-claim-to-be-dismissed

[with video]

The Catholic Church sex abuse scandal continues with every Diocese in the state releasing its list of credibly accused priests, except one.

 Monday morning was the first court hearing concerning the battle of releasing the list for the Diocese of New Ulm.

 In Brown County District Court Monday morning, attorneys met before District court judge Robert Docherty.

The Diocese of New Ulm requested the dismissal of a nuisance claim alleging sexual misconduct with two minors by a deceased priest.

This nuisance claim demands the list of names– compiled 10 years ago– be made public.

Attorney, Michael Bryant says, "One of the arguments they made was that they had an intervention, meaning we've got two attorneys here that are arguing that certain priests names shouldn't be disclosed in the list."

Declining an on–camera interview, the Diocese of New Ulm did issue a press release. Stating in part, "He [Judge Docherty] granted a motion to intervene made on behalf of two individuals whose names the diocese reported to the John Jay Study. The interests of these individuals, who believe that the allegations of sexual abuse made against them are false and that their names should therefore not be made public, will now be represented in the case."

Bryant says, "Assumptions are that these priests are alive. Cause every list that we've been talking about has been to notify the public of who's alive and who's out there. Who's still working in these places, who's still working in your neighborhood. So that's what the key to these lists are, that's the damages that we talked about with the nuisance claim."

The Diocese of New Ulm says attorneys for the individuals separately filed two motions last Monday to withhold their names from becoming public.

Attorneys representing victims of alleged sexual abuse say it's possible that credibly accused priests are still at work.

Bryant says, "The key to this list is the ones that are still alive. Still out there working, still out there dealing with children, those are the people that the individual public needs to know about."

The judge says he will issue his ruling in the case soon.