Rev. Laurin J. Wenig

Summary of Case: Wenig was removed from active ministry in February 2011 after a man reported to the Milwaukee archdiocese's victims' assistance program that Wenig had sexually abused him when he was a 12- or 13-year-old boy in the mid-1970s. Additional accusers later came forward. Wenig denied the allegations. He was voluntarily laicized in June 2015.  

Ordained: 1973
Laicized: June 2015

   

Start Stop Parish Town/Accusations State Position Notes

1973

Milwaukee archbishop was William Edward Cousins (1958-1977)

1975 St. Nicholas

Milwaukee

• A man reported to the archdiocese's victims' assistance program in February 2011 that Wenig sexually abused him as a child, when Wenig served at St. Nicholas, and the man was a student at the parish school. The accuser said the abuse happened when he was 12 or 13 years old, in the church and at an area athletic facility.

WI 3/3, 2/2 Parish had a school with 439-447 students.

1975

Cousins was succeeded by Rembert George Weakland, O.S.B. (1977-2002)

1985 De Sales Prep. Seminary High School/Call to Ministry Program Milwaukee WI Spiritual Counselor 1975-1977, Director of Formation 1977-1979, Director 1979-1980, Rector 1980-1985, faculty member This minor seminary had 145-48 students.
1982 1985 Dominican High School Whitefish Bay WI   School had 859-803 students.
1985 1990 Graduate Studies, St. Francis Seminary Milwaukee WI    
1990 1997 St. Matthew's Neosho WI 1/1 Parish had a religious education program with 260-139 students.
1990 1997 St. Mary's Woodland WI 1/1 This was a mission of St. Matthew's until 1996. St. Mary's had a religious education program 1996-1997 with 224 students.
1996 1997 St. John's Rubicon WI 1/1  
1992 1995 Sacred Heart School of Theology Hales Corners WI part time faculty member  
1998 1999 Sacred Heart School of Theology Hales Corners WI part time faculty member  

1997

Timothy Michael Dolan replaced Weakland (2002-2009)

2008 Holy Family Whitefish Bay WI 1/2, 1/1 Parish had a school with 216-292 students, and a religious education program with 491-376 students.
2008 2009         Wenig is not indexed in the 2009 Directory, nor is he listed in the Milwaukee archdiocesan pages at his previous or subsequent assignments.

2009

Jerome Edward Listecki succeeded Weakland (2009-)

2011 St. Mary's Visitation Elm Grove WI 1/1

Parish had a school with 328 students, and a religious education program with 215 students.

Wenig was removed from active ministry in February 2011 due to an allegation that he sexually abused a minor in the 1970s. In a letter to parishioners, he denied the allegations. Several other accusations against Wenig of child sexual abuse are said to have been made.

Wenig requested laicization, which was granted in June 2015. 

 

Sources: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1974-2010)

• Elm Grove Priest Removed after Molestation Claim Made, By Annysa Johnson, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, February 26, 2011
• Man to Detail Alleged Abuse by Priest, WTMJ, March 29, 2011
• Will It Ever End?…third Priest Removed from Ministry in the Milwaukee Archdiocese in the Last Two Months, Voice from the Desert, May 7, 2011
• Accuser of Elm Grove priest speaks publicly, Journal Sentinal Online, March 30, 2011

Priests in a Parish: We use the following convention to show a priest's place among the clergy of a parish: 1/2 means that he is the first priest listed in the Official Catholic Directory (usually the pastor) and that there is a total of two priests at the parish. The shorthand 3/4 means that the priest is listed third on a four-priest roster. See our sample page from the Directory.

Note: The Official Catholic Directory aims to report the whereabouts of Catholic priests in the United States on January 1 of the Directory's publication year. Our working assumption is that a priest listed in the Directory for a given year was at the same assignment for part of the previous year as well. However, Kenedy and Sons will sometimes accept updates well into the year of publication. Diocesan clergy records are rarely available to correct this information. The Directory is also sometimes misleading or wrong. We have tried to create an accurate assignment record, given the source materials and their limitations. Assignment records are a work in progress and we are always improving the records that we post. Please email us with new information and corrections.

This assignment record collates Wenig's career history as it is represented in the Official Catholic Directory with allegations as reported in the media. We make no representation regarding the truth of the allegation we report, and we remind our readers that the U.S. legal system presumes that a person accused of or charged with a crime is innocent until proven guilty. Similarly, individuals who may be defendants in civil actions are presumed not to be liable for such claims unless a plaintiff proves otherwise. Admissions of guilt or liability are not typically a part of civil or private settlements. For more information, see our posting policy.

This assignment record was last updated on February 18, 2021.