CROOKSTON, Minn. – The bishop of the Roman Catholic Crookston diocese, Michael Hoeppner, resigned after an investigation by the Vatican on interfering with past investigations into clergy sexual abuse. Pope Francis had requested the resignation. At 71, Hoeppner is four years short of the normal retirement age for bishops. The diocese of Crookston includes Bemidji, Crookston, Detroit Lakes, East Grand Forks, Moorhead, Park Rapids, and Thief River Falls in northwest Minnesota. Nearly 35,000 Catholics live in the diocese. Named as interim bishop was Richard Pate, the retired bishop of Des Moines.
Hoeffner. Crookston bishop since 2007.
The accusation
Hoeppner was accused of stating that a priest was fit for ministry despite allegedly knowing the priest had abused a 16-year-old boy 50-some years ago. The victim, Ron Vasek, later accused Hoeppner of blackmailing him into retracting his allegations against the priest. A lawsuit filed by Vasek lawsuit was settled for an undisclosed sum in 2017. Bishop Hoeppner claimed that he had trying to protect Vasek’s confidentiality by stating that the priest, Roger Grundhaus, was fit for ministry. Grundhaus has continued to deny Vasek’s allegations.
Vatican role
Hoeppner was the first bishop known to be investigated by the Vatican under a 2019 church law. Pope Francis created the law to conduct preliminary investigations against bishops accused of sex abuse or cover-up. In Hoeffner’s case, a further investigation was ordered. The conclusion: Bishop Hoeffner “had at times failed to observe applicable norms when presented with allegations of sexual abuse involving clergy.”