The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis announced today that they were removing temporarily Father Joseph Gallatin and Father Mark Wehmann for claims of inappropriate interactions with minors. Gallatin has been serving as pastor at the Church of St. Peter in Mendota since 2008. Wehmann has been serving as pastor at St. Boniface in Minneapolis and also at Fairview University Hospital in Minneapolis. Previously he was at Church of St. Bridget of Sweden (Lindstrom). Neither name was on the list recently released by the Archdiocese.
According to the St Paul Pioneer Press:
A consulting firm that has been reviewing diocesan files identified the incidents.
Gallatin, who has been serving as a pastor at the Church of St. Peter since July 2008, was found to have had one incident of inappropriate conduct with a minor several years ago that involved a “boundary violation.” The incident did not involve a crime, the consulting firm said.
Wehmann, who has served as a pastor at St. Boniface since July 2013, was also found to have had inappropriate conduct with minors, but in several cases. The consulting firm said law enforcement had been informed about “most of these” in the past, and no criminal charges were filed. The archdiocese recently informed law enforcement about the remaining incidents. Until recently, Wehmann was a part-time chaplain at Fairview University Hospital in Minneapolis.
Update: The First week in September the Church announced action on Gallatin:
- Rev. Joseph Gallatin removed from ministry activities
The names continue to be disclosed, there are more lists that exist in Minnesota, and there are many more names to find.
Abuse of children and the continued silence by the offenders needs to be prevented. If you suffered, saw, or suspected such events, it is important to know that there is help out there.
