Rare One-on-one Interview with Archdiocese Official

By Cassie Hart
KSTP
August 19, 2014

http://kstp.com/article/stories/S3538260.shtml

[with video]

A former Minnesota man says he's finally getting justice for what a Catholic priest did to him. Fifty-four-year-old Jon Jaker says Father Thomas Stitts sexually abused him at St. Leo's Catholic Church in St. Paul in 1971. Stitts died in 1985 but now, after a change in state law, the victim sued the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

Following the settlement, we sat down with Bishop Andrew Cozzens of the archdiocese.

It’s one of few times a high-ranking member of the archdiocese was available for an interview with us.

"Some people have accused us of being somewhat silent over the last six months and there’s some truth to that. We believe actions speak louder than words. We are taking victims seriously, " Fr. Cozzens said in a one-on-one interview.

The archdiocese says it is leaving it up to the family to talk about a settlement.

The family didn't give those details Wednesday.