MINNESOTA: Archdiocese Sued Again Over Claims It Shielded Pedophile Priest

Yet another lawsuit has been filed against the Archdiocese of St. Paul & Minneapolis. Via MPR News:

The lawsuit filed Thursday morning by St. Paul attorney Jeff Anderson on behalf of a man in his 50s alleges Kern abused him starting when he was 12 years old while Kern was working at Our Lady of Grace in Edina during the 1970s. The man, identified only as Plaintiff Doe 26, said the archdiocese knew -- or should have known -- that Kern was a child molester before it placed him there. Over three decades, Kern remained in the ministry, even though two families reported to the archbishop and the St. Paul police that Kern abused their sons as early as 1969, just three years after Kern was ordained. One of those boys Kerns was accused of abusing that year was Jamie Heutmaker, who also spoke out today.

Check out this bit:

Heutmaker said he and his friend Charlie Turning and some other children went to Lake Nokomis in Minneapolis, where Kern touched their genitals while playing with them in the water. Church memos obtained by St. Paul attorney Jeff Anderson show that archdiocese officials were skeptical of Kern's claims that he was simply engaging in what he called "Italian wrestling" -- in which he said men grasp at each other's genitals. But instead of barring him from the ministry, archdiocese officials moved him to another parish.

(Tipped by JMG reader Rick)