Prompts winter weather advisories as cold air moves in Friday night

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

The Diocese of St. Cloud, faced with a lawsuit and mounting public pressure, has released a list of 33 Catholic priests it believes "were likely involved in the sexual abuse of minors."

At least 16 of the priests were already known to the public through lawsuits and media reports. Several had been named as likely abusers 

 in Collegeville, Minn., and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

according to a statement released late Friday

 by the diocese. The list does not include any information about the abuse allegations or how the diocese evaluated the claims. It includes the name of each priest, his parish assignments, and whether he's still living — and if so, his town of residence. Several of the priests are listed as "Status Unknown."

 Robert Blumeyer, OSB (Order of St. Benedict): Deceased.  (Blumeyer was also included on a list released by 

 Michael Brennan, TOR (Third Order Regular of Saint Francis): Status Unknown

: Deceased (Dahlheimer was also included on a list released by 

 Richard Eckroth, OSB: Currently residing in Collegeville.  (Eckroth was also included on a list released by 

 Thomas Gillespie, OSB: Currently residing in Collegeville (Gillespie was also included on a list released by 

: Address unknown  (Hoefgen was also included on a list released by 

 Raymond Jacques: St. Peter and Paul, Sauk Centre; Assumption, Morris; St. Anne's, Kimball. Deceased

 Reginald Krakowski, TOR:  Current Status Unknown

: Currently residing in Collegeville  (Maiers was also included on a list released by 

 James Thoennes: Currently residing in St. Cloud

 (Canons Regular of the Order of the Holy Cross (Crosiers)): Currently residing in New York (Vaughn was also included on a list released by the 

Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis in December

Michael Weber: Currently residing in the Twin Cities

 Adelbert Wolski, TOR: Current Status Unknown


Eckroth, Gillespie, Maiers, Schulte, Weber, Vaughn and Hoefgen could not be reached for comment. Thoennes declined to comment. 

The release of names by the St. Cloud diocese comes after the 

Abuse victims and their lawyers have asked bishops for years to disclose information about priests who sexually abused children. Those efforts gained traction in recent months after 

 that the Twin Cities archdiocese failed to report abuse claims to police and 

, said, "It is my hope that the release of these names will provide validation to those victims who have been sexually abused and have already come forward. I pray it will also give strength to those who have remained silent and allow them to come forward." 

Kettler has served as the bishop of St. Cloud since November 2013. He handled fallout from the clergy sexual abuse scandal at his previous assignment as bishop of the Diocese of Fairbanks, Alaska, which filed for bankruptcy in 2008 because of demands for financial settlements by more than 100 victims of clergy sexual abuse. Kettler declined to be interviewed.

The Diocese of St. Cloud released the names one day after Bob Ethen — a Sartell man who said he was sexually abused as a child in 1965 by the Rev. James Thoennes — 

, accusing it of creating a public nuisance by keeping information about abusive priests secret. 

Ethen, 61, said he hopes the release of the names helps other victims and "puts the church on notice that no one's going to put up with this anymore."

Attorney Mike Finnegan, who represents Ethen, called the release today "a step in the right direction" but said he's still seeking the disclosure of all information on abusive priests, not just the names. 

The release of the St. Cloud names leaves New Ulm and Crookston as the only Minnesota Catholic dioceses yet to disclose the names of likely offenders. Victims' attorneys have asked judges to force the disclosure of lists in both dioceses. A 

 is scheduled for Monday, and a judge's decision is expected soon in 

Judge extends deadline for naming accused priests

Lawsuit filed over St. Cloud diocese priest list

Duluth Diocese names 17 ex-priests credibly accused of abuse

Archdiocese: Two priests reported to police

Memo names 3 missing from 'credibly accused' priests list

Abuse claims kept secret allowed priest to minister and teach sex ed

Archdiocese officials meet with St. Paul police

Police: Archdiocese not cooperating with clergy abuse investigation

Winona diocese names 14 priests credibly accused of child sexual abuse

Nienstedt Sunday homily: Catholic bishops have failed

Religion and Faith

Tom Scheck

Author

Madeleine Baran

Twenty-one of the priests, the diocese said, are dead. Of the living: Four live in Collegeville, one lives in St. Cloud, one in the Twin Cities metro area and another in New York City. The diocese doesn't know the whereabouts of five of the priests on the list.

St. Cloud diocese releases list of 33 priests who 'likely abused minors'

Go Deeper.

Like this?