MINNESOTA
Star Tribune
Article by: JEAN HOPFENSPERGER , Star Tribune Updated: March 11, 2015
The Rev. Curtis Wehmeyer, a St. Paul priest convicted in 2013 of sexually abusing two boys at his church, has been permanently removed from the priesthood by the Vatican.
The decision bars Wehmeyer from presenting himself as a priest or “exercising priestly ministry,” according to the Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis, which made the announcement Wednesday. It also bars him from teaching or taking a leadership role in any Catholic institution, the archdiocese said.
Wehmeyer is currently serving a five-year prison term in connection with the sexual abuse of two brothers in a camper parked outside Blessed Sacrament Church in St. Paul, where he lived and worked as the parish pastor. He was also charged with possession of child pornography. The boys were age 12 and 14 at the time.
The priest had a history of attempted sexual encounters with young men, including approaching young men for sex at a local bookstore, but parishioners at Blessed Sacrament were not notified.
In November 2014, Wehmeyer faced additional charges — second-degree sexual assault of a teenage boy while on a camping trip to a Wisconsin state park.
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