Priests accused of abuse had ties with Foreston

MINNESOTA
Mille Lacs County Times

By Jeff Hage
January 9, 2014

Two Catholic priests with ties to a church in Foreston were among a list of 33 priests in the St. Cloud diocese accused of sexual abuse.

The list became public on Friday, Jan. 3, days after Robert Ethen, of Sartell, filed suit seeking the release of the names. Ethen alleges that he was abused by a Catholic priest while attending St. Anthony Catholic School in St. Cloud.

The priests with connections to St. Louis Bertrand Catholic Church in Foreston are Peter Snyers and Francis Zilkowski. Both priests are deceased.

Snyers served at St. Louis from June 1965 until July 1968, according to his obituary at danielfuneralhome.com. Prior to coming to Foreston, he served as pastor at St. Kathryn’s Church, Ogilvie, from June 1958 to June 1965. He died on Jan. 19, 2012. He served at five other parishes in the St. Cloud Diocese before retiring in July 2001.

Snyers was also chaplain for the Boy Scouts of America, his obituary states.

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