Abusive priest gets disability, support from Twin Cities archdiocese
By Tony Kennedy and Jean Hopfensperger, Star Tribune (Minneapolis) | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
The church continued his priestly salary and health insurance, covered his living expenses and psychological treatment and paid for his education and training, according to church records and a former archdiocese accountant. It has given him jobs in the chancery, helped him establish his own consulting business and steered clients his way.
In
The archdiocese's long-standing support of Gustafson, outlined in church documents and interviews, has angered abuse victims and their families. They say it's another sign that the church cares more about the welfare of abusive priests than the children they assaulted.
"Since when is a crime a disability?" asked
The archdiocese said it is required by church law and "Christian compassion" to care for priests removed from ministry.
"Gustafson is permanently and totally disabled and is therefore entitled to benefits through the Pension Plan for Priests,'' said a statement to the
It has been 30 years since Gustafson's last known instance of child abuse, the archdiocese said. Some of his clients say he is entitled to a second chance.
Gustafson, now 62, lives in a small bungalow in
In response to written questions from the
The archdiocese hasn't revealed how many abusive priests are supported by disability payments. The support is not included in the church's report this month of
Family's pain endures
While the church has been supporting Gustafson, the Herrity family has spent decades haunted by the trauma.
Photos of a smiling, sandy-haired
Brian was a "happy, happy kid," who liked to jump on his dad's lap and snuggle and later enjoyed speed skating and wrestling, recalled his father,
Gustafson, the parish priest, began abusing Brian when he was about 10, said his father. The abuse continued for five years -- at the church rectory, the family's home, on a bike ride, a trip to
Brian's class pictures reveal the transformation, from a friendly kid with goofy bangs on his forehead to "a person we couldn't recognize," Herrity said.
The years of abuse "mentally and physically destroyed him," Herrity said. Classmates at
"My boy is dead," Herrity said. "Gustafson is getting paid."
The family also sees the abuse as a factor in the struggles of Brian's older brother, Jeff, who died in 2010 at age 45.
"People who say, 'Move on,' don't have a clue how sexual abuse tears at a family," said Herrity. "You cope. But the family suffers forever."
The archdiocese paid for Brian's therapy for a couple of years, Herrity said. A court settlement of
As Brian was dying from AIDS, Herrity said he met with the Rev.
Church supports priest
After Gustafson's release from jail, then-Archbishop John Roach pressed for his return to active ministry.
"I want him back in a parish," Roach wrote to McDonough in 1990. "He has received and complied with far more treatment than anyone else, and it seems to me he has done it well."
While no parish assignment materialized, Gustafson was allowed to give presentations about his sex offenses and help out at the chancery and at
According to accounting ledgers obtained by the
Domeier, interviewed by phone at the state correctional facility in
"I was told it was transitional, to get him up and running in his own business," Domeier said. "It didn't seem fair to me."
School leaders not informed
Gustafson's hiring as a leadership consultant for
The Rev.
"As far as I knew,
Haschka said he made sure Gustafson was escorted at all times but never disclosed to the team of school officials that Gustafson was a pedophile with multiple victims.
Some school donors who found out were outraged.
"I didn't think it was relevant," Haschka said. "If that was a bad decision, then I made a bad decision."
Clients accept the past
Gustafson has been hired at venues ranging from
"When somebody has worked on their issues, and comes through, that's the mark of a person becoming whole," said Sister
While his sponsors say Gustafson should be allowed to pursue his career, other Catholics say it is wrong for the church to promote a pedophile priest.
"I am in utter disbelief that this man is still approved by the diocese to work with parishes as they vision and create goals and plans for the future," wrote Murphy, a longtime church administrator.
"The man has got to make a living, but he shouldn't be at a church doing it," said Murphy. "It's the same venue where he committed his crimes."
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