MINNESOTA
National Catholic Reporter
Brian Roewe | Mar. 11, 2015
One of the primary priests that triggered the now more-than-yearlong clergy sex abuse scandal in the St. Paul-Minneapolis archdiocese has been laicized.
The archdiocese announced Wednesday afternoon that the Vatican has removed Curtis Wehmeyer from the clerical state. The decision bars him from presenting himself as a priest or exercising priestly ministry. In addition, he cannot teach or hold a leadership role in any Catholic institution.
Wehmeyer is currently serving a five-year prison sentence. In November 2012, he pleaded guilty to 20 felony charges for the sexual abuse of two minors and possession of child pornography; he was sentenced the following February. He was charged in November in Wisconsin of second degree sexual assault of a teenage boy in relation to a summer 2011 camping trip.
In a statement, Twin Cities Archbishop John Nienstedt said that Wehmeyer has been notified of the decision, as have all the archdiocese’s priests and parishes.
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