BishopAccountability.org
	Man Sues Two Dioceses, Claims Abuse Former Apple Valley Priest Accused By Steve Scott Pioneer Press [Minnesota] April 25, 2006 http://www.twincities.com/mld/pioneerpress/news/local/14419943.htm A 38-year-old Minneapolis man sued the Catholic dioceses of the Twin Cities and Winona on Monday, claiming he was molested as a teen-ager by Thomas Adamson. Adamson was removed from the priesthood in the mid-1980s after several lawsuits revealed a long history of abuse. The man, not identified in the civil suit filed by attorney Jeffrey Anderson of St. Paul, said he had no memory of being abused by Adamson until 2002, when widespread national reports surfaced about a clergy abuse scandal. The man said the abuse occurred while he was a member of Risen Savior parish in Apple Valley. The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis confirmed Adamson was on the staff there beginning in 1981 but said he was not the pastor. The archdiocese "had no prior knowledge of the alleged sexual abuse of a minor" in this case, it said in a statement released Monday. "Thomas Adamson, the former priest accused in this matter, was dismissed in 1984, after cases of abuse of minors were uncovered," the statement continued. "However, the complaint by this particular plaintiff, encompassing alleged sexual abuse by Adamson … has not previously been brought to the archdiocese's attention." The statement said the archdiocese has "an ongoing program of investigating abuse claims and providing therapy and other benefits to victims." At least a dozen lawsuits were brought in the late 1980s and early 1990s against Adamson, who served in the Diocese of Winona until being transferred to the Twin Cities in 1975 after allegations of abuse surfaced. According to a letter released Monday by Anderson, then-Bishop Loras Watters of Winona asked the Twin Cities archdiocese to accept Adamson after "incidents" occurred "in at least five different communities across the entire diocese … over a 15-year span." In another letter released by Anderson, then-Archbishop John Roach of the Twin Cities wrote a letter back to Watters nine years later stating that "Adamson has had certain complaints made about him and his involvement with juvenile males." Roach asked Winona to recall Adamson because the priest needed "extensive in-patient treatment" before he could receive any further assignment. The suit filed Monday seeks unspecified damages and accuses the dioceses of fraud and negligence for harboring and concealing Adamson and his conduct for more than 25 years. "He is a very serious serial offender who has never been prosecuted because he was protected by the bishops," Anderson said. Adamson, 72, is believed to live near Eau Claire, Wis., according to both the archdiocese and Anderson. Beginning in 1958, Adamson served schools and parishes in Winona, Adrian, Rochester, Caledonia, Hammond, Albert Lea, Fountain, Wykoff, St. Paul Park, Columbia Heights and Apple Valley. Steve Scott may be reached at 651-228-5526 or sscott@pioneerpress.com.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.