Notre Dame Academy alumni call for removal of St. Norbert abbot, two board members over response to clergy abuse

DE PERE - Alumni of Notre Dame Academy are demanding the removal of St. Norbert Abbey's leader as well as two school board members who supported a priest convicted of sexually assaulting a teenager in the 1980s.

In a letter obtained by the Green Bay Press-Gazette, a group working on behalf of graduates from Notre Dame and the former Premontre, Abbot Pennings and St. Joseph Academy schools pushed for new leadership amid a reckoning over sexual abuse allegations linked to Norbertines who worked at the schools decades ago.

The calls for change come nearly one year after the suicide of Notre Dame alumnus Nate Lindstrom, who said three priests sexually abused him when he was a teenager. Lindstrom received $420,000 in secret payments from the order over 10 years until abbey officials deemed his allegations not credible and stopped sending checks, a Press-Gazette investigation found.

He killed himself in March.

For many former students, alleged sexual misconduct among Norbertine priests has been an open secret.

"This has been going on for decades," said Kate Egan, who graduated from Notre Dame with Lindstrom in 1992. "I think most of us who have had generations of family members attend these schools remember hearing stories." 

The group sent a letter to Notre Dame officials last month with a list of requests, including Abbot Dane Radecki's resignation and removal from the school's Corporate Board. The letter followed a previous appeal for action from over 400 alumni in the wake of the Press-Gazette investigation.

Radecki has served as abbot since 2018 and worked as principal for Premontre and Notre Dame when Lindstrom was in high school.

Premontre and Abbot Pennings, both operated by the Norbertines, merged with the all-girls' St. Joseph Academy to become Notre Dame in 1990. The school serves nearly 800 students today and remains tied to the Catholic order, with some priests holding top positions on the Corporate Board and Board of Education.

"We demand the Norbertines hold Abbot Dane Radecki, as leader and decision maker accountable, and any other parties involved, for the alleged cover up and mishandling of these alleged abuse cases," the letter stated. "There has been an overwhelming lack of victim support and compassion. Abbot Radecki appears to be part of the problem." 

A Change.org petition also calling for Radecki's resignation has gathered over 2,400 signatures.

Radecki declined through an abbey spokesman to be interviewed for this story. In a letter to alumni, also obtained by the Press-Gazette, the abbot said no one brought information to him about suspected abuse by Norbertines during his tenure as principal. He also denied having any advance knowledge of past decisions to transfer accused clergy out of the abbey.

"Many continue to hurt from this sad part of our history and I pray daily that they may find hope and healing," Radecki wrote. "I fully realize that no matter what is said, it will not change what happened."

According to the abbot, a policy established in 1991 requires Norbertines to report abuse allegations to local police or Child Protective Services. Abbey officials track investigations into priests and meet with victims, if they're willing, to offer "pastoral and spiritual support" and help them arrange counseling.

"We acknowledge that, before 1991, this was not always the case," Radecki wrote. "Past practice regarding whether or not to report allegations, as well as how victims and offenders were treated, was reflective of standard societal approaches at the time of the allegations. This is not to say it was the right thing to do, nor is it an excuse; rather, it is an explanation."

If an allegation is substantiated, Radecki said, the priest is removed from ministry and lives at the abbey under a safety plan that may include a ban on interacting with children. These Norbertines are moved out of the De Pere facility only if their health "requires a different, restricted residence."

Priests are permitted to resume ministry if an allegation is unsubstantiated, but the letter does not indicate how abbey officials gauge the credibility of such accusations. Abbey spokesman Montie Chavez said the abbot's response "stands for itself."

Two board members vouched for convicted priest

In addition to Radecki's resignation, Notre Dame alumni want to see the removal of two board members who wrote letters to a Brown County judge in 2004 in support of James Stein, a former priest who sexually assaulted one of Lindstrom's classmates in the late 1980s.

He is also one of the three priests Lindstrom accused of abusing him.

Stein was charged in 2003 with three counts of second-degree sexual assault but agreed to plead no contest to one charge in exchange for the other two being dropped. In December 2004, then-Judge Sue Bischel sentenced him to one year in jail and 10 years of probation. 

Court records show Bischel received several letters from Stein's friends and fellow Norbertines ahead of the sentencing sharing positive stories and asking for a lenient punishment on his behalf. Notre Dame Corporate Board member Sister Pat Clement and the Rev. David Komatz, who serves on the Board of Education, were among those speaking in Stein's favor.

"(Stein) is a people person who has helped many, many people over the years," Clement wrote. "He touched hearts in positive ways that only congregations can tell you about. Laughter and care accompany his ministry."

Komatz, who was the abbey's second-in-command at the time, said Stein had rehabilitated himself after a misdemeanor sex offense in 1991 and argued he had already been punished by losing his priesthood and license to practice psychology.

"Priesthood is intrinsically entwined in one's self-concept. ... Practically speaking, priesthood is forever gone for Jim Stein," Komatz wrote.

Clement and Komatz did not respond to interview requests from the Press-Gazette. In his letter, Radecki said the boards planned to meet to discuss a path forward. 

Chad Staehly, who graduated from Notre Dame in 1993, said leadership changes are just part of the accountability and transparency that alumni want to see from the school and Norbertines. The group also urged abbey officials to turn over records on credibly accused priests to law enforcement and wants to see intervention by the state attorney general.

Still, Staehly believes a fresh start at the top will help protect children going forward. The Notre Dame community is close-knit, he said, and alumni are invested in making sure they can feel proud of the school's legacy.

"I was a kid, but I sure knew that sexual abuse of a child is wrong no matter who's committing it," he said.

Contact Haley BeMiller at hbemiller@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @haleybemiller.