Fr. Aaron Kuhn's suspension and the Catholic hierarchy's inept "rest and reassign" approach to priest sexual misconduct with adults

Diocese of St. Cloud, MN priest Fr. Aaron Kuhn

Imagine a large bank receives an allegation that one of their branch managers engaged in sexual misconduct. After investigating the report, the bank deems the allegation to be credible. They tell the person that reported the inappropriate sexual behavior that they are free to report the events to the police, if they wish (but the bank won’t). Then, instead of firing the branch manager, the bank sends them away for a months-long sabbatical at a peaceful retreat center, all on the company’s dime.

The bank refuses to give details on the nature of the allegation, such as whether physical force was used, or if the bank manager used their positional power to coerce an employee. The district manager encourages bank employees and customers to write letters of encouragement to the suspended bank manager. The bank refuses to answer media requests for more information, and the bank is considering letting the ousted bank manager return to his job after his extended stay at the retreat center is concluded. Because, after all, the branch manager only hurt an adult, not a child.

This would be an absurd way for a sane company to react to a report of sexual misconduct. But this is exactly how the Diocese of St. Cloud, MN is handling the case of Fr. Aaron Kuhn, a priest suspended in June after church officials received a report of sexual misconduct involving an adult.

On leave for “personal and spiritual renewal”

Bishop Patrick Neary’s June 29 letter to the Mary Mother of The Church Area Catholic Community (referred to locally as “ACC”) informed parishioners that their pastor, Fr. Aaron Kuhn, was placed on administrative leave after the Diocese of St. Cloud received a report of “sexual misconduct involving an adult.” No further details about the allegations were revealed in the letter. Neary said that Kuhn will undergo a “professional evaluation for personal and spiritual renewal.”

During his July 7 homily, interim ACC parochial vicar Fr. Rick Aubol, spoke about the allegations against Fr. Kuhn:

Here are the facts: Last week, somebody — not from the ACC — made serious allegations against Fr. Aaron. We do not know what, or when they said it was, or whether they are true, or how much, or for what reasons. But the right thing to do is to take them seriously and to evaluate them in a safe, secure, isolated setting. And this is what the diocese is doing. We don’t know how long that will take. But when there is more to say, the diocese will continue to be as transparent as legally possible. That’s it. Full stop. That’s the extent of all we know, and all we need to know at this point. Therefore, if you hear anyone say something more than that, or different than that, they made it up, or they’re passing on something that someone else made up.

On July 8, the ACC Facebook page announced that the community would hold two public prayer events for Fr. Aaron, the church community, and “everyone affected by circumstances disclosed in Bishop Neary’s letter from last week.” Prayers for the person who reported Fr. Kuhn’s alleged sexual misbehavior were not mentioned in the announcement.

July 10: Diocese of St. Cloud refuses to comment

I asked the Diocese of St. Cloud the following questions in a July 10 email:

- Did the accuser first meet Fr. Kuhn in his capacity as a priest?  

- Was the accuser ever a parishioner of Kuhn's or someone who participated in a ministry Kuhn was involved in?

- What will Kuhn's treatment entail?

- How will the diocese evaluate if/when Kuhn will return to ministry?

- Is the diocese aware of Minnesota law barring clergy from sexual relationships with adult persons under their care? 

- Was Kuhn's case referred to law enforcement? If not, why not?

In general (not in particular to the Fr. Kuhn case):

- Does the diocese acknowledge the inherent power imbalance between priest and parishioner and that a parishioner cannot truly "consent" to sexual activity? 

- Does the diocese have a policy of permanent suspension for priests found to be guilty of having sex with their parishioners?  If not, why not? 

I did not receive a response to this email or to my multiple follow-up contacts.

“Residential treatment”

Bishop Neary provided an update on Fr. Kuhn on July 15, telling parishioners that their pastor has begun an initial two-week professional evaluation. “I will wait to see what recommendations emerge from his care team before Father Aaron and I meet to determine his future ministry.” The bishop also told parishioners that, if they wish to send cards and messages to Fr. Kuhn during his leave of absence, they can send them to the diocese offices and he will make sure they get to Fr. Kuhn. (This is the first time I’ve heard of a bishop offering to forward fan mail to a priest suspended for sexual misconduct.)

On July 30, Bishop Neary announced that Fr. Kuhn will enter a program at a residential treatment center for approximately four to six months, on the recommendation of the professional assessment. “When the residential treatment program is completed,” the bishop wrote, “Fr. Aaron and I will discuss next steps in light of the facility’s recommendations.”

St. Cloud repeating Reno’s mistakes

I’ve seen this movie before.

In 2023, I was intensely involved in the effort to convince the Diocese of Reno to cancel their plans to reinstate a priest into ministry who coerced an adult parishioner into a sexual relationship and was sent by the diocese to a residential treatment center for “counseling and discernment” as punishment.

In the Diocese of Reno, I was told that the offending priest was sent away for an extended stay at the Shalom Center in Splendora, TX (where suspended clergy enjoy amenities such as paddle boat rides on a tranquil, private lake and massages on-call). It is likely that Fr. Kuhn is currently residing at this type of facility.

In Reno, it took a three-month, aggressive social media public awareness campaign (spearheaded by the brave victim), multiple calls to the diocese, a police report, and two investigative articles in Where Peter Is to convince the diocese to finally do the right thing and permanently ban the priest from ministry.

Seeing the Diocese of St. Cloud make the same poor choice that ended up publicly humiliating the Diocese of Reno is infuriating to watch.

Calling out Bishop Neary

I called Bishop Neary’s office on Aug. 6 and left him a very blunt voicemail imploring the Diocese of St. Cloud to not repeat the Diocese of Reno’s mistake of relying on a residential treatment center to fix a sexually problematic priest. “Please call your brother bishop in the Diocese of Reno, Bishop Daniel Mueggenborg and ask him how that went when he did the same,” I told the bishop.

I further explained to Bishop Neary, “If [Fr. Kuhn] is a predator, then he does not belong in one of your parishes. And if you put him back in one of your parishes, you, sir, are a sexual abuse enabler, and not worth your office. You are not worth being a successor of the apostles.”

Continued stonewalling by the Diocese of St. Cloud

I have not heard back from the bishop’s office regarding my Aug. 6 voicemail. In fact, well before I called the bishop in frustration, the Diocese of St. Cloud ignored all my previous media requests asking for comment on the Fr. Kuhn situation. The diocese also ignored all media inquiries from my colleague, Sara Scarlett Willson, who has been following this case, as well.

I have dealt with several dioceses in my work as a journalist and advocate for Catholic abuse victims. Every other diocese has provided an official comment (sometimes curt and unhelpful, but still something). Saint Cloud is the only diocese that has completely ignored Willson and I.

Frustrated by the Diocese of St. Cloud’s silence, Willson contacted Mary Mother of The Church ACC through their Facebook page to press them on why the church did not report Fr. Kuhn’s alleged sexual misconduct to the police. Minnesota law says a clergy member who uses his positional power to coerce sexual activity from someone in his care can be prosecuted for sexual assault, and Willson was determined to find out why no one in the church seems to care.

In an Aug. 9 response that I assume was absolutely not authorized by the Diocese of St. Cloud, an unnamed administrator of the ACC’s Facebook page responded to Willson’s inquiries about the lack of police involvement in the Fr. Kuhn case.

“[T]hey were free at any time to press charges.”

The ACC Facebook representative told Willson that the parish held three public meetings with the Diocese of St. Cloud. The representative said, “One of the first things [the diocese] said was that they reminded the person bringing the allegations that they were free at any time to press charges. They declined to do so.”

If the ACC Facebook representative’s recollection of the parish’s meetings with the diocese is accurate, that means that the Diocese of St. Cloud knows that Fr. Aaron Kuhn may have committed a crime but is still considering returning him to ministry after his stay at the residential treatment center. There would be no reason for the diocese to inform the person who reported the allegations that they are free to “press charges” if the diocese was confident that no laws were broken.

I recently contacted the St. Cloud Police Department to inquire about reporting the Diocese of St. Cloud’s possible cover-up of a sexual assault. The police department informed me that they could not proceed with a sexual assault investigation unless the alleged victim comes forward to participate.

If the person who reported Fr. Aaron Kuhn is reading this article, I strongly urge you to file a report with the police.

Protecting the accused instead of the abused

The Diocese of St. Cloud continues to make the scandal of the sexual misconduct allegations against Fr. Aaron Kuhn much worse for everyone involved by cowardly maintaining secrecy — likely under the pretense of “prudence” — instead of being transparent with the Catholic community. Both Bishop Neary and Mary Mother of The Church ACC have insulted and harmed Catholic clergy abuse victims by publicly prioritizing the feelings and reputation of a priest accused of sexual misbehavior instead of clearly committing to protecting Catholics from abuse.

I am disgusted, but not at all surprised.

I will continue to follow this case.

Dec. 23, 2024 update: Diocese of St. Cloud reinstates Fr. Aaron Kuhn

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