MINNESOTA
The Journal
June 5, 2016
By Kevin Sweeney – Journal Editor , The Journal
Editor’s note: This is the fourth in a series of articles on the issue of sexual abuse of minors by priests in the Diocese of New Ulm.
NEW ULM – For 15 years, Msgr. Douglas Grams has been the Diocese of New Ulm’s point man on the issue of sexual abuse by clerics. As Vicar General of the New Ulm Diocese, he is also a member of the Diocesan Review Board for Sexual Misconduct.
He has been dealing with the allegations, complaints and civil lawsuits brought by victims of sex abuse who have come forward, especially over the past three years when state law opened a window of opportunity for filing civil complaints long after the normal statute of limitations had expired.
During those three years, the diocese has been named in 98 lawsuits, involving 28 of the diocese’s 75 parishes and 15 priests of the diocese.
The lawsuits claim that the diocese knew, or should have known, about the activities of its own priests, that they allowed them to have access to children, putting children at risk, and allowed abusive priests to continue abusing by moving them to other posts.
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