Advertisement
Thomas Adamson, now 72, was transferred to the Archdiocese of the Twin Cities in 1975 to receive psychological counseling. He later was relieved of his duties after multiple lawsuits accusing him of a history of abuse.
While in the Winona diocese, he was assistant principal at Winona Cotter High School and assistant pastor at St. Casimir’s church, as well as at St. John’s parish in Caledonia, Minn., and Lourdes High School in Rochester, Minn.
Although this latest case claims Adamson molested the unnamed man, then an altar boy, between 1980 and 1982 while associate pastor at an Apple Valley, Minn., church, it accuses both the Winona diocese and the Archdiocese of fraud and negligence.
Adamson was appointed an associate pastor at the church in 1981 with the stipulation he have no contact with children, according to documents released by the man’s attorney, Jeffrey Anderson of St. Paul.
The suit, filed Monday in Ramsey County District Court, seeks unspecified damages.
Winona Bishop Bernard Harrington was out of town and unavailable for comment Tuesday. The diocese issued a written statement that it had not received official notice of the complaint. In a separate statement, the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis denied having any prior knowledge of the alleged abuse.
Anderson said his client did not remember the priest sexual abuse until a barrage of news accounts triggered a panic attack in 2002. Under Minnesota law, to collect damages for personal injury caused by sexual abuse, a person must act within six years of the time of knowing injury resulted from the abuse.
Adamson attended Saint Mary’s College and Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary in Winona. As early as 1964, he admitted having sexual contact with boys under his supervision, and similar accusations and admissions continued until he was transferred to the Archdiocese 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 Archdiocese later assigned Adamson to a series of parishes, including App le Valley, where he allegedly abused other boys, according to the suit. Adamson was recalled to the Winona diocese in 1985 after those allegations became public, according to diocese documents. He now lives in Eau Claire, Wis., Anderson said.
Adamson has never faced criminal prosecution for abuse, Anderson said. He contends the church concealed the 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 about half of the cases. Only one case was successfully tried, resulting in a 1989 jury verdict of $2.7 million against the Winona diocese that was significantly reduced on appeal.
In 1996, the Winona diocese settled three cases involving Adamson for about $800,000.
In 2003, Bishop Harrington reported the diocese had spent about $5.8 million in legal fees and settlements related to abuse. The diocese revealed it had 48 accusations of abuse against 13 diocesan priests in a 50-year period.
Chris Hubbuch is city editor for the Winona Daily News.
