MINNESOTA
Pioneer Press
By Emily Gurnon
egurnon@pioneerpress.com
POSTED: 09/03/2014
A Ramsey County judge has ruled that a groundbreaking lawsuit against the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and the Diocese of Winona can proceed with a controversial claim intact.
Judge John Van de North denied a motion by the two church organizations for summary judgment on a claim alleging they created a “public nuisance” by concealing information about Thomas Adamson, a former priest accused of child molestation.
“Failing to disclose information about an accused priest is akin to, and conceivably more offensive and dangerous, than other acts that have been considered public nuisances,” such as harboring “worrisome dogs” and swearing in public, Van de North wrote in his order, referring to other case law.
Thomas Adamson worked in both the Twin Cities and the Winona diocese. He was known to church officials as a suspected child abuser, yet moved from parish to parish as his alleged crimes came to light.
Doe 1 is a Twin Cities man who sued the archdiocese, the diocese and Adamson in May 2013, alleging that the priest molested him while he was serving at St. Thomas Aquinas in St. Paul Park in the late 1970s. Doe 1 also alleged that the church officials created a public nuisance by harboring Adamson.
The archdiocese and diocese sought to have the nuisance claim dismissed.
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