Former Fridley Priest on List of Accused Priests

A former Fridley priest is on a list of priests “credibly accused of sexual abuse of minors in the archdiocese (of St. Paul and Minneapolis),” according to the archdiocese’s newspaper.

Gilbert DeSutter was at St. William between 1976 and 1983. He then moved to St. Michael in Prior Lake, where he stayed until he resigned in 1993. He continued to have limited ministry until he was permanently removed from the ministry in 2003. The 85-year-old now lives in Mesa, AZ.

Nearby Columbia Heights had four former priests on the list:

• Thomas Adamson was at Immaculate Conception from 1979-1980. He transferred to Risen Savior, when he stayed until he returned to the Diocese of Winona in 1985. He was removed from the ministry that year. The 80-year-old now lives in Rochester.
• Francis Hoefgen never served at a Columbia Heights, but the 63-year-old lives there now.  He was a member of the Order of St. Benedict at St. John’s Abbey and served in Cold Spring, St. Boniface and Frontenac between 1980 and 1994. He was permanently removed from the ministry in 2002. He left the order and was laicized in 2012.
• Joseph Pinkosh also lives in Columbia Heights. The 70-year-old was a minister in Hopkins, New Prague, Minneapolis and Shieldsville between 1969 and 1992, when he was permanently removed from the ministry.
• Joseph Wajda was at Immaculate Conception as an associate priest and then administrator between 1977 and 1981. He held several other positions in a career that ran from 1973 until 2002. He was permanently removed from the ministry in 2003 and now lives in Minneapolis.

The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis published the list of 34 priests Thursday in the online edition of The Catholic Spirit, the newspaper that serves the archdiocese.

About half of the parishes in the archdiocese—92 out of 188 parishes—had one of the priests on the list there at some point, according to the archdiocese.

The publication was made in response to ongoing lawsuits against priests and the church arising from childhood sexual abuse cases. The archdiocese and Diocese of Winona originally sought to seal the list—which was created in 2004 and included 33 of the 34 priests named today, according to the Star Tribune.

The courts agreed to seal the list in 2009. But Archbishop John Nienstedt reversed course after the church was accused of shielding priests—allegations that gained extra fuel in recent months from a Minnesota Public Radio exposé.

The information being released comes mostly from reported incidents that occurred between the mid-1950s and 1980s, according to The Catholic Spirit.

“All have been permanently removed from ministry or are deceased,” the article said.

The church says it is engaged in a comprehensive review of clergy files and will update the list as it makes additional announcements.