MINNESOTA
Dairyland Peach
Published July 26, 2015
Bishop Donald Kettler of the Diocese of Saint Cloud will hold a series of listening sessions in August following allegations of sexual abuse committed by three priests of the diocese. The Diocese of St. Cloud was recently notified of four civil lawsuits alleging abuse by Father Robert Smith, Father William Wey and Father James Thoennes. The suits name the Diocese of St. Cloud as a defendant.
Smith and Wey have been deceased for more than 25 years. Thoennes does not have faculties to serve publicly as a priest and currently lives in St. Cloud under restrictions.
The listening sessions will be held at parishes in areas of the diocese where the three men served. The gatherings are an opportunity for the bishop to acknowledge the accusations, listen and answer questions, and encourage any other abuse victims/survivors to come forward.
“I’m very concerned about any clergy sexual abuse that has ever happened,” Bishop Kettler said. “I want to do everything I can to respond to the people who bring allegations forward and to prevent abuse from ever happening again.”
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