Diocese of Crookston MN

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Terry McKiernan February 26, 2021

20 Accused in This Diocese

Fr. James Bernauer

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Ordained: 1952
Status: Accused

Diocese: Diocese of Crookston MN

Named publicly as credibly accused of abuse of a minor(s) by the diocese on its list sometime after 9/21/17. Further, he was sued in 1991 by a woman claiming he harassed and molested her for a year while she sought counseling from him and while she was a part-time church office worker. Bernauer retired in 1991 and died 6/19/16.

Assignments:

Diocese of Crookston List accessed 01.26.20

Sources:

BishopAccountability 2004

Fr. Robert Bester

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Ordained: 1979
Status: Accused

Diocese: Diocese of Crookston MN

Named publicly as credibly accused of abuse of a minor(s) by the diocese on its list sometime after 9/21/17. It notes that Bester was a parish pastor until 1991, went on leave of absence 1991-94, had a hospital chaplaincy in the Duluth diocese 1995 until he retired 7/1/99. Reportedly worked in Anchorage AK 2001-05, when he was accused of soliciting sex from a man. The man sued the diocese. Bester was laicized 12/15/06 and died 1/2/19.

Assignments:

Diocese of Crookston List accessed 01.26.20

Sources:

Duluth News Tribune 05.10.05
Duluth News Tribune 05.11.05
Diocese of Crookston List accessed 01.26.20

Fr. Stanley C. Bourassa

Ordained: 1955
Status: Accused

Diocese: Diocese of Crookston MN

On 1/24/14, the Crookston diocese released a list of accused persons, including Bourassa, who previously was not publicly known to be accused. The diocese provided no information about the allegations against Bourassa. He was trained at Nazareth Hall Preparatory Seminary in St. Paul and St. John's University/Seminary in Collegeville. Bourassa worked in the Crookston diocese his entire career, as a parish priest, high school teacher, and diocesan school administrator. He was made monsignor on 4/11/90. Died 8/11/04. Accused in a 5/16 lawsuit of sexually abusing a minor 1965-68 while at Sacred Heart in East Grand Forks.

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Sources:

Fr. Richard Boyd

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Ordained: 1979
Status: Convicted

Diocese: Diocese of Crookston MN

Convicted in 1984 of possession of hundreds of items, including about 20 magazines, plus photos and albums, of teenage boys younger than 18 engaged in sex, court records show. Completed 2-year probation and 6-month treatment at a Catholic facility in MA. Responding to concerns of parishioners in 2003, the Crookston review board found no evidence of abuse. A police investigation found photos of nude young men, not evidently underage, posted by Boyd on the internet. Boyd denied wrongdoing. He took indefinite leave of absence and resigned from parish in 2003 saying 'innuendo and gossip' destroyed his credibility as minister. Laicized in 2006. Boyd's appeal was pending. Added sometime after 9/21/17 to the diocese's list of those with credible accusations against them of abuse of minors.

Assignments:

Diocese of Crookston List accessed 01.26.20

Sources:

Fr. Victor Cardin

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Ordained: 1926
Status: Accused

Diocese: Diocese of Crookston MN

Named publicly as credibly accused of abuse of a minor(s) by the diocese on its list sometime after 9/21/17. Pastor of St. Peter in Gentilly 1960-83. Retired 1983. Died 11/10/92.

Assignments:

Diocese of Crookston List accessed 01.26.20

Sources:

Diocese of Crookston List accessed 01.26.20
Forum News Service 07.27.20

Fr. Henry G. Carriere

Ordained: 1946
Status: Convicted

Diocese: Diocese of Crookston MN

Pleaded guilty in 12/91 to three counts of child sexual abuse. Retired in 7/90. Died in 11/03.

Assignments:

BA.org Assignment Record

Sources:

Thief River Falls Times 10.31.03
Crookston Times 03.09.16

Fr. Lawrence Davis

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Ordained: 1952
Status: Accused

Diocese: Diocese of Crookston MN

Named publicly as credibly accused of abuse of a minor(s) by the Crookston diocese on its list sometime after 9/21/17. Priest of the Diocese of Saginaw, worked in E. Grand Forks 1952 and in Argyle 1952-53. Died 11/15/79.

Assignments:

Diocese of Crookston List accessed 01.26.20

Sources:

Forum News Service 07.27.19
Diocese of Crookston List accessed 01.26.20

Fr. Gerald K. Foley

Ordained: 1961
Status: Accused

Diocese: Diocese of Crookston MN

"Jerry." Foley admitted, some time before 2005, to sexual misconduct in the 1970s and early 1980s with women in his pastoral care. By 2005, Vicar General McDonough of St. Paul and Minneapolis was aware that at least one of those women was 'as young as 17,' and that some of the women whom Foley 'exploited' were known to Foley through Retrouvaille, a marriage renewal program. Foley had been a leader of Retrouvaille at least from 1984 to 2005. He was laicized on 9/22/06. In the 1960s and 1970s, he was Director of Crookston's Catholic Social Services Association, and for a year or two in the late 1970s he was the Executive Director of the National Catholic Rural Life Conference, based in Des Moines IA. Foley was transferred in 1985 from the Diocese of Crookston to the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, where he was a chaplain at St. Joseph Hospital in St. Paul until about 2004. In these years he was listed by Crookston as 'on duty outside the diocese.' Name included in 10/23 on the St. Paul and Minneapolis archdiocese list of accused.

Assignments:

Diocese of Crookston List accessed 01.26.20

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Fr. Charles J. Gormly

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Ordained: 1936
Status: Sued

Died: 01/11/1968
Diocese: Diocese of Crookston MN

From Ireland, ordained for the Cheyenne WY diocese. Left WY in the mid-1940s. Accused in a claim filed in 12/2014 of sexual misconduct with a child at St. Francis in Brainerd MN, in the Duluth diocese, in the early 1960s. Worked in diocesan parishes 1960-1961. Removed and sent to a psychiatric hospital in Milwaukee. Records released in 11/2015 indicate he worked and abused in the Crookston diocese, likely in the 1950s, prior to his transfer to Duluth. Had been sent to Via Coeli in NM for treatment. Letters written by Duluth bishop Francis Schenk in 1960 and 1961 stated Gormly had a history of molesting small girls. In 1960 Schenk wrote that despite Gormly's [poor] record in Crookston he wanted "to give him one more chance." Gormly worked under Schenk in both Crookston and Duluth. Gormly died in 1968. Included on the Cheyenne diocese's list 6/12/2019. On the Duluth diocese's list 3/28/2024.

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Fr. Roger Grundhaus

Ordained: 1966
Status: Settled

Diocese: Diocese of Crookston MN

Monsignor, Vicar General. Retired 2010. Publicly accused 5/17. A man seeking to train as a deacon said he told Bishop Hoeppner in 2010 that Grundhaus abused him in 1971 at age 16. The man sued Hoeppner and the diocese in 5/17, claiming Hoeppner told him to keep it quiet or he would not become deacon and that his priest-son's career would be harmed. Hoeppner had him sign a letter in 2015 rescinding the allegation. The man said he signed it to protect his son. Diocese denied coercion; said they reported allegations to police in 2011. Man's attorney said Grundhaus' name was not on a court-ordered list of accused priests given to his office in 10/15. Grundhaus was suspended in 5/17. Diocese settled with the man in 9/17; no admission of wrongdoing by Hoeppner, as a condition of the settlement. Lawsuit naming Grundhaus settled 7/19. In 9/19 Grundhaus stated the incident occurred when the boy was 18, and was a misunderstanding. Hoeppner was forced to resign per Pope's Vos Estis in 4/21. In 3/22 the diocese announced that its review board determined that Hoeppner had "engaged in inappropriate activity....with a young man." Prohibition from public ministry to continue for a year, then case to be reviewed.

Assignments:

Jeff Anderson & Associates

Sources:

Fr. Joseph Palanivel Jeyapaul

Ordained: 1982
Status: Convicted

Diocese: Diocese of Crookston MN

From India. In Crookston diocese 2004. Diocese knew rumors by 8/04. Abruptly returned to India 9/05; given job by bishop overseeing schools. In 2006, girl told diocese he abused her many times 2004-05, age 14, including rape and forced oral sex. Per diocese, allegations credible. She sued 7/09; settled 9/11 for $750K. Another girl said he sexually assaulted her on her 16th birthday, 2005. Sued; settled. Vatican recommended laicization; Bishop in India refused. Suspended from ministry in India 2010. Arrested 3/12 on Interpol warrant. Extradited to US 11/14 to face charges in both cases. Pled guilty 5/15 to the 2005 sex assault of 16-year-old girl; sentenced to 1 year; freed due to time served. No conviction in other case due to plea deal. Deported to India. Bishop Arulappan Amalraj in Ootacamund, India lifted suspension 1/16, citing consultation with Vatican's CDF. MN victim filed fed suit 4/19/16 vs India diocese. She won 10/16. As part of terms, diocese removed him.

Assignments:

Jeyapaul Timeline with Documents 04.05.10

Sources:

Deacon Aaron Kaiser

Ordained: 2017
Status: Accused

Diocese: Diocese of Crookston MN

Deacon. Assigned to St. Joseph's in Bagley, and in 10/19 named pastoral associate for the diocesan Formation in Discipleship Office. Placed on leave in 6/21 due to allegations of child sexual abuse.

Sources:

Brainerd Dispatch 06.26.21

Fr. Stephen Murawski

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Status: Accused

Diocese: Diocese of Crookston MN

Priest of the Diocese of Pueblo. Named publicly as credibly accused of abuse of a minor(s) by the Crookston diocese on its list sometime after 9/21/17. Allegation(s) of abuse outside the Crookston diocese.

Sources:

Fr. Michael O’Reilly

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Status: Accused

Diocese: Diocese of Crookston MN

Named publicly as credibly accused of abuse of a minor(s) by the Crookston diocese on its list sometime after 9/21/17. Credible claims of abuse occurring outside of the diocese.

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Fr. Casimir Plakut

Order: OSB
Ordained: 1938
Status: Accused

Died: 11/10/1988
Diocese: Diocese of Crookston MN

Also know as Fr. Francis J. Michael. Name (Plakut) released by St. John's Abbey in 9/2017 as added to its list of those "likely to have offended against minors." Ordained for the Benedictines. Plakut worked in the Dioceses of St. Cloud, Crookston, Duluth, the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Nassua in the Bahamas, as chaplain in the US Army, and at Harvard University. He left St. John's in 1962. Also worked in KY, NE, TX, SD and Ontario Canada. Died in 1988.

Assignments:

Anderson and Associates

Sources:

Fr. Francis R. Reid

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Ordained: 1964
Status: Accused

Diocese: Diocese of Crookston MN

On 1/24/14, the Crookston diocese released a list of accused persons, including Reid, who previously was not publicly known to be accused. The diocese provided no information about the allegations against him. He was trained at Mount St Bernard Seminary in Dubuque IA and St Procopius Seminary in Lisle IL. Reid was ordained in Omaha but worked in the Crookston diocese his entire career as a parish priest. He was reportedly removed from ministry on 7/1/92 but is subsequently listed in the Official Catholic Directory as in residence at St Michael's in Mahnomen 1992-1997, after which he is listed as living in Park Rapids. After the USCCB's Dallas meeting, he was dropped from the Directory in 2003, only to reappear with his death on 11/15/07.

Assignments:

MPR 01.26.14

Sources:

Fr. James Rellihan

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Order: OMI
Ordained: 1965
Status: Accused

Diocese: Diocese of Crookston MN

Named publicly as credibly accused of abuse of a minor(s) by the Crookston diocese on its list sometime after 9/21/17. Worked in the diocese 1986-92.

Assignments:

Diocese of Crookston List accessed 01.26.20

Sources:

Diocese of Crookston List accessed 01.26.20

Fr. Joseph D. Richards

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Ordained: 1990
Status: Accused

Diocese: Diocese of Crookston MN

Named publicly as accused of abuse of a minor(s) by the Crookston diocese on its list sometime after 9/21/17. Categorized under "internal and/or independent investigation has not been able to substantiate that a claim made was credible. Some of these individuals have been named in lawsuits. '

Sources:

Diocese of Crookston List accessed 01.26.20

Fr. Augustine John Strub

Order: OSB
Ordained: 1947
Status: Accused

Died: 07/17/2015
Diocese: Diocese of Crookston MN

Name released by St. John's Abbey 9/19/17 as added to its list of monks "most likely to have offended minors." Included on the St. Cloud diocese's list. Worked in the Crookston, Duluth and St. Cloud dioceses and the Archdiocese of Mexico City. Left the priesthood in 1961-62. Died 7/17/15.

Assignments:

Jeff Anderson & Associates Timeline and Bio

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Fr. Patrick A. Sullivan

Ordained: 1982
Status: Reinstated

Diocese: Diocese of Crookston MN

Assigned to St. Eizabeth's in Dilworth and St. Andrew's in Hawley when placed on leave in 4/16 during investigation of an accusation that he had sexually abused a 15-year-old boy in 2008. Abuse said to have occurred at St. Mary's Mission on Red Lake Reservation. Sullivan denied the accusation. No charges filed. Reinstated 12/17 after diocese determined the allegation was not credible. Placed again on leave in 2/19 for alleged "boundary issues." Deemed not credible; to return to ministry 7/1/21.

Assignments:

BA.org Assignment Record

Sources:

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