Former Foley student sues diocese, priest

By David Unze
St. Cloud Times
January 7, 2015

http://www.sctimes.com/story/news/local/2015/01/07/former-foley-student-sues-diocese-priest/21402265/

Courts

A former student at a Foley elementary school has sued a former St. Cloud diocese priest, accusing the priest of abusing him years after the diocese knew the priest had abused other children.

The lawsuit accuses Rev. James Thoennes of abusing the boy in the early 1970s when Thoennes was assigned to St. John's parish in Foley. The suit says Thoennes abused the child at Thoennes' mother's home in Central Minnesota, a place where Thoennes invited several children to accompany him on overnight visits.

The lawsuit also names the diocese as a defendant and accuses the diocese of knowing that Thoennes had abused children before it assigned him to Foley.

Thoennes was deposed in September for a separate lawsuit and admitted sexually abusing at least five boys while working as a priest in the St. Cloud diocese.

The lawsuit filed Wednesday in Stearns County District Court accuses the diocese of creating a "public nuisance" by not informing the public about Thoennes and more than two dozen other priests accused of sexually abusing children.

The diocese issued a statement about the new lawsuit, which it said it had not had the opportunity to review.

"As he has stated in the past, Bishop Donald Kettler is committed to transparency and providing pastoral assistance to help victims of abuse to find justice and healing," the statement read.

Kettler released a list in January 2014 of clergy who were "likely involved in the past in the sexual abuse of minors," the statement read. "The list also included the parishes and/or schools where these individuals served. James Thoennes was included on this list. He does not have faculties to serve publicly as a priest and currently lives in St. Cloud under restrictions."

The extent of those restrictions is the crux of the nuisance claim. Attorneys for victims of clergy sex abuse have used nuisance claims to get access to priest files from religious orders.

A separate Stearns County case involving a nuisance claim against the diocese is awaiting a judge's ruling on whether the nuisance claim can proceed.