Attorneys Release Files of Winona Diocese Priests Accused of Abuse
Winona Daily News
The attorneys who have brought a sprawling suit against the Diocese of Winona and Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis released on Tuesday what are presumed to be the full personnel files for 14 priests “credibly accused” of abuse in cases that span more than a half-century. Attorney Jeff Anderson and others spoke at a news conference in Rochester announcing the release of the files, as they continue preparations for the trial in Ramsey County District Court, slated to begin the first week of November. The trial is centered around former diocese priest Thomas Adamson, who has admitted to abusing multiple boys across several years. Tuesday marked the first public release of all of the personnel files, collectively numbering roughly 4,000 pages, according to document page counts. Various groups and individuals have unsuccessfully demanded their release dating back years. The diocese last December in response to a court order released the names of the 14 priests, and earlier this year provided minimal details about their tenures at various churches and dates when they entered and left the ministry. One document in the files also raised the specter of the Diocese of Winona going bankrupt because of current and potential future lawsuits. Bishop John Quinn, in a letter included in the files, points to fears of the outcomes of both existing claims, as well as an untold number the diocese may receive. The diocese has not, however, made any known moves or formal announcement to that effect. Diocese spokesman Joel Hennessy told Minnesota Public Radio that the diocese hasn’t decided whether to file for bankruptcy because it’s unclear how many people may sue in the remaining 21 months a new state law allows. ”It’s not out of the realm of possibility. But it is not by any means even a possibility at this point,” he said of bankruptcy. “It’s just unknown at this point.” The personnel files contain sensitive information, including explicit descriptions of allegations of abuse. The Daily News has chosen to publish the files online as a way to further the reporting on the lawsuit, as well as in the interest of ongoing transparency related to the suit. “The details of the sexual abuse contained in the files are painful reminders of the significant impact that sexual abuse has on the survivors of child sexual abuse,” said Winona diocese spokesperson Joel Hennessy in a statement. Anderson said his staff redacted portions of the files to remove references to people who made claims of abuse against the priests. Hennessy in the statement stressed that the redactions do not minimize or hide abusers’ behaviors or identities. Anderson said the firm chose to release the files in advance of the trial to create an opportunity to alert affected communities of wrongdoing, and to identify a pattern that the documents reveal. That pattern was that “each bishop and each top official from 1950 to the present made conscious choices – conscious choices to conceal the crimes against the children and to protect the offenders and each other,” Anderson said. A man who has accused Adamson of abuse revealed his name publicly for the first time Tuesday at the conference. Paul Hotchkiss said he was abused by Adamson about 35 years ago while Adamson was serving in a parish in Dakota County in the Twin Cities. “This has to stop today,” Hotchkiss said. “No more children can be hurt. It’s a horrible thing, and it needs to stop. It has got to be over. These people can’t be allowed to do this over and over. They’re monsters.” Anderson thanked Hotchkiss and other survivors of priest abuse that have come forward to work with his firm, some of whom he said were in the audience Tuesday. “We want you to know you have done something by being part of this journey to do something to protect other kids by helping us reveal the past so that it’s not repeated in the future,” Anderson said. The files detail the lives of 14 diocese priests who were “credibly accused” of abuse, the term coming from a nationwide study published in 2004 to determine the scope of clergy sex abuse that led to the lists. Collectively they have worked at 45 parishes in 44 cities across southern Minnesota. All but five are deceased, some have not been active in the diocese for decades and only one still lives in Winona. Their service at Winona-area parishes runs primarily from the mid-1950s through the 1970s, though a few continued to serve in some capacity into the 2000s. “But the consequences and their legacy is evergreen,” Anderson said Tuesday. “And it lives today in the hearts and souls, the psyches and the family lives of all of the survivors who were left behind.” The files include academic records, transfer records, and selected personal correspondence with diocese officials. They also include letters from people claiming abuse at the hands of priests, some of which involve lengthy and explicit descriptions of abuse that occurred over periods of days, weeks, months and in some cases years. The lawsuit against the diocese and archdiocese is headed to court after multiple appeals, including an argument, which district court judge John Van de North dismissed, that its claim of public nuisance is not valid. The plaintiff’s attorneys are arguing that the diocese and archdiocese engaged in negligence and created a public nuisance by not reacting more aggressively to allegations of abuse and failing to notify parishioners about the priests. This case will be the clerical sexual abuse case nationwide to use the public nuisance theory at trial. The lawsuit was filed in May 2013, the first filed under a law that opened up a three-year window for victims of past sexual abuse to file claims that were otherwise barred under the statute of limitations.
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