AZ--Secret records about ex-AZ abusive cleric are released

For immediate release: Friday, Nov. 27, 2015

Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those abused by Priests (314 566 9790, [email protected])

More than 600 pages of long-secret records about a child molesting Catholic priest who spent years in Arizona have been released. Arizona church officials should tell parents, parishioners and the public about him.

He’s Father Bruce Wollmering. Twice, he was a graduate student (1969-70, 1975-78) at the University of Arizona in Tucson. In 1976, he had an internship at U of A hospital and family clinic in Benson, AZ. In 1985-1986, he was granted “academic leave” from U of A.

In 2004, two individuals made allegations against him of "sexual misconduct in the 1980s." In 2009, two civil lawsuits were filed against him and his church supervisors alleging abuse in the 1970s and 1980s. In 2011, cases against him were settled. Last year, his name was included on a list of monks likely to have offended against minors by St. John’s Abbey in Minnesota.

Tucson Bishop Gerald Kicanas should personally visit the parishes near where Fr. Wollmering lived or worked, begging victims, witnesses and whistleblowers to come forward. He should also use parish bulletins, church websites and pulpit announcements across the entire diocese to seek out others who may have been assaulted and are still suffering. And he should permanently post on his diocesan website the names, photos and whereabouts of every child molesting Arizona are cleric, whether alive or dead, diocesan or religious order, or admitted, proven or credibly accused. (About 30 US bishops have done this. It’s the bare minimum a bishop should do to protect the vulnerable and heal the wounded.)

We hope that every single person who saw, suspected or suffered clergy sex crimes or cover ups in Arizona will summon the strength to speak up. Kids are safer only when victims, witnesses and whistleblowers are courageous enough to act. Silence is tempting but it only helps wrongdoers.

It’s important that people with suspicions or knowledge of these crimes and cover ups call the independent professionals in law enforcement, not the biased amateurs in church positions.

NOTE – The attorneys involved in the records release are Jeff Anderson (651 227 9990 office, 612 817 8665 cell, [email protected]) and Mike Finnegan (651 227 9990 office, 612 205 5531 cell, [email protected]).

The Minnesota church spokesman who’s responsible for information about Fr. Wollmering is Brother Aelred Senna (320 363 2004, [email protected], 320 363 2085 phone, 320 363 3039 (fax [email protected]). Bishop Kicanas’ public relations staff includes Steff Koeneman ([email protected]), Victor Calderon ([email protected]), Omar Rodrí­guez ([email protected]) and Jessica Caraballo ([email protected]).

(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. SNAP was founded in 1988 and has more than 20,000 members. Despite the word “priest” in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)

Contact - David Clohessy (314-566-9790 cell, [email protected], [email protected]), Barbara Dorris (314-503-0003 cell, [email protected]), Frank Meuers of Plymouth MN, SNAP director Southern Minnesota (952-334-5180, [email protected]), Verne Wagner of Duluth, SNAP director Northern Minnesota (218-340-1277, [email protected])