Man says bishop coerced him into signing a retraction
By Steve Karnowski
Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A man who says he was abused by a priest 46 years ago has sued Bishop Michael Hoeppner and the Diocese of Crookston in northwestern Minnesota, alleging the bishop coerced him into signing a document saying the abuse never happened.
The lawsuit announced Tuesday says Ronald Vasek was exploring whether to become a deacon in 2010 when he told Hoeppner he had been abused by Monsignor Roger Grundhaus during a trip to Ohio when he was around 16 and Grundhaus worked at Holy Trinity Church in the town of Tabor. Vasek says the bishop advised him not to tell anyone, including his wife.
Vasek entered the diocese’s program for becoming a deacon in 2011. His son was ordained a priest in the diocese in 2010 and continues to work there. The complaint, filed Monday in Polk County District Court, says the bishop summoned Vasek to a meeting in October 2015 and handed him a letter that essentially retracted the accusations Vasek had made against Grundhaus and said the abuse never happened.
“The Bishop indicated to Plaintiff that if he should refuse to sign the letter, the Bishop would have difficulty ordaining Plaintiff as a deacon for the Diocese of Crookston and that Plaintiff s son’s priesthood in the Diocese of Crookston would be negatively impacted,” the complaint alleges. “Plaintiff perceived this as a threat by the Bishop against both his career as a deacon and his son’s priesthood in the Diocese of Crookston.”
Vasek initially refused to sign but relented because he felt he had no choice, the complaint says. Hoeppner “indicated that he would keep the letter in his vault in case he ever needed it,” the document says.
“Under Minnesota law, that’s a crime of coercion,” said Vasek’s attorney, Jeff Anderson, who also said it’s the first time a U.S. bishop has been sued individually for coercion.
Hoeppner has been the bishop of Crookston since 2007. The diocese referred reporters’ calls to its vicar general, Monsignor Michael Foltz, the No. 2 official in the diocese, who did not immediately return a call from The Associated Press seeking comment.
Grundhaus, a retired former vicar general of the diocese, said he had been told he couldn’t talk about the lawsuit. He said he had been serving as chaplain to the nuns at Mount St. Benedict Monastery in Crookston, but has been suspended from all public priestly activity until this matter is resolved.
Anderson pointed out that Grundhaus did not appear on the diocese’s public list of credibly accused priests, which was released in 2014.
The lawsuit also says the bishop’s alleged coercion prevented Vasek from filing a timely claim by last year’s deadline for victims of past sexual abuse under a Minnesota law that carved out a three-year exception to the state’s statute of limitations.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages in excess of $50,000. It also wants an order that the diocese fully disclose the names and other information on all priests and other agents of the diocese who have been accused of child molestation, and that it work with civil authorities to create a policy for dealing with molesters that will better protect children and the general public.
The Catholic church in Minnesota has been rocked in recent years by a broader sexual abuse scandal facing the church. The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, and the dioceses of Duluth and New Ulm filed for bankruptcy amid a growing number of abuse claims. Twin Cities Archbishop John Nienstedt resigned in 2015 after prosecutors filed criminal charges against the archdiocese for failing to protect children from an abusive priest.
