June 12, 2020 — Statement re: Additional priest name disclosure

June 12, 2020

STATEMENT RE: ADDITIONAL PRIEST NAME DISCLOSURE

Bishop Donald Kettler of the Diocese of Saint Cloud has added an additional name to the list of clergy likely to have abused minors.

The bishop added Father Charles Meyer, a member of the Society of the Precious Blood, to the list following notification by the Diocese of Bismarck, North Dakota, that Meyer was added to its list of “extern clergy with substantiated allegations of sexual abuse of a minor.”

Meyer was ordained on May 14, 1931, in Ohio. In the Diocese of Saint Cloud, he served as chaplain of Memorial Hospital in Perham (1966-70) and pastor of St. Lawrence in Rush Lake (1966-85). He died in 1997. No reports of alleged abuse against Meyer have been made to the Diocese of St. Cloud. In line with past practice, Bishop Kettler will hold a listening session in the near future at St. Lawrence in Rush Lake.

The full list can be viewed at: https://stcdio.org/list-clergy-likely-abused-minors.

Bishop Kettler continues to encourage all victims of abuse to come forward. Contact information for victim advocates and county officials to whom abuse can be reported is available online at: https://stcdio.org/about/safe-environment/how-to-report-abuse.

The bishop asks all Catholics in the diocese to pray for healing for all victims and survivors of sexual abuse.