MINNESOTA
Grand Forks Herald
By Tom Olsen on Jul 7, 2015
DULUTH — A Catholic missionary order on Tuesday released the names of seven former Minnesota priests who have been accused of child sexual abuse — a list that includes five clergymen who worked within the Diocese of Duluth.
The list, made public through a settlement agreement between the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate and an abuse victim, includes previously unreported priests who worked at parishes throughout the county, including in Duluth, Superior, International Falls and Northome.
All seven were members of the Oblates, and five worked within the Diocese of Duluth at some point: James Vincent Fitzgerald, Michael Charland, Robert J. Reitmeier, Thomas Meyer and Paul Kabat who worked in Grand Forks from 1969 to 1970.
Several of the accused priests worked with children, including Reitmeier, who was principal at St. Jean’s School in Duluth, and Charland, who led “Teens Encounter Christ” programs in Superior and International Falls.
Only Fitzgerald, who was the subject of the lawsuit that prompted the release of the names, was previously included on the Duluth diocese’s list of credibly accused priests.
“We’ve conducted an exhaustive review of diocese files and there are, to my knowledge, no allegations of sexual abuse of minors that have been raised regarding any of the five, other than Fitzgerald,” said Susan Gaertner, an attorney for the diocese. “Simply put, the other four are essentially news to us.”
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