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	Diocese of Winona Sued for Alleged Sex Abuse by Former Priest By Chris Hubbuch Winona Daily News [Minnesota] April 26, 2006 http://www.winonadailynews.com/articles/2006/04/26/news/00lead.txt A 38-year-old man has sued the Diocese of Winona claiming he was molested as a teenager by Thomas Adamson, a former priest who was transferred from the Winona Diocese to the Twin Cities in 1975 and later relieved of his duties after multiple lawsuits alleged a history of abuse. Adamson, 72, was a priest in the Winona diocese from 1958 until 1975, when he was transferred to the Archdiocese of the Twin Cities where he was to receive psychological counseling. According to the suit filed Monday in Ramsey County District Court, Adamson molested the unidentified man between 1980 and 1982 at a church in Apple Valley, Minn., when the plaintiff was a teenage altar boy. Adamson was appointed an associate pastor at the church in 1981 with the stipulation that he have no contact with children, according to documents released by the plaintiff's attorney, Jeffrey Anderson of St. Paul. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and accuses both the Winona diocese and the Archdiocese of fraud and negligence. Winona Bishop Bernard Harrington was out of town and unavailable for comment Tuesday. The diocese issued a written statement saying it had not received official notice of the complaint. The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis also issued a written statement that it had no prior knowledge of the alleged abuse. Both said they have policies in place to investigate abuse allegations. Anderson said his client did not remember the abuse until a barrage of news accounts of sexual abuse by priests triggered a panic attack in 2002. To collect damages for personal injury caused by sexual abuse, a person must act within six years of the time the person knew the injury resulted from the abuse, according to Minnesota law. In 2003, a Minnesota district court threw out a case against the diocese involving abuse by Adamson in the late 1960s because the statute of limitations had expired, a decision upheld by a state appeals court. Adamson attended Saint Mary's College and Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary in Winona. After his ordination, he served assistant principal at Cotter High School and assistant pastor at St. Casimir's church, as well as at St. John's parish in Caledonia and Lourdes High School in Rochester. As early as 1964, Adamson admitted to having sexual contact with boys under his supervision, and similar allegations and admissions continued until he was transferred to the Archdiocese for treatment in 1975. In a 1975 letter released by Anderson, then-Bishop Loras Watters wrote of "incidents" in "at least five different communities ? occurring over a 15-year span." The letter states that the Priests Personnel Board had unanimously recommended receive "all the help he needs" and "honestly face the fact that he cannot accept an appointment to a parish in the diocese now or even in the immediate future." The Archdiocese later assigned Adamson to a series of parishes, including the one in Apple Valley, where he is alleged to have abused other boys, according to the lawsuit. Adamson was recalled to the Winona diocese in 1985 after allegations of his abuse became public, according to diocese documents and the Archdiocese. He now lives in Eau Claire, Wis., according to Anderson. Adamson has never faced criminal prosecution for abuse. Anderson said this is because the Church concealed his abuse until it was too late. Anderson said he has identified 28 victims of Adamson and has represented about a dozen, winning a settlement in roughly half those cases. Only one case was successfully tried, resulting in a 1989 jury verdict of $2.7 million against the Winona diocese. That award was significantly reduced on appeal. In 1996, the Winona diocese agreed to pay about $800,000 to settle three cases involving Adamson. Bishop Harrington reported in 2003 that the diocese had spent about $5.8 million in legal fees and settlements related to abuse. The diocese revealed that in 50 years there had been 48 allegations of abuse against 13 diocesan priests.
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