Victims of clergy abuse to sue Vatican

MINNEAPOLIS — Five men who say they were sexually abused by Roman Catholic priests when they were minors are planning to sue the Vatican and are demanding the names of thousands of predator priests they claim have been kept secret by the Holy See.

In a Monday news release announcing the lawsuit, Minnesota attorney Jeff Anderson said he wants to show that the Vatican tried to cover up actions by top church officials including former St. Paul Minneapolis Archbishop John Nienstedt and former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, who was found guilty by the Vatican of sexually abusing minors and adults and defrocked by Pope Francis. The lawsuit, which will be filed Tuesday, seeks the release of 3,400 names of purportedly abusive priests.

The plaintiffs include three brothers who were abused by former priest Curtis Wehmeyer as recently as 2012 in St. Paul, Minn. Wehmeyer pleaded guilty to criminal sexual conduct and child pornography in connection with his contact with two of the boys, who were 12 and 14.

The other plaintiffs are, Manuel Vega, a California man who says he was abused by a priest in Los Angeles, and James Keenan, who says he was sexually abused by a priest in Minnesota.