In Nate’s memory, we are launching his mission
Good evening,
Today marks one year since we lost Nate Lindstrom, our beloved son, brother, husband, father, and friend. As many of you know, Nate was a victim of childhood sexual assault and abuse by Norbertine priests as a student at Our Lady of Premontre High School, now known as Notre Dame Academy. In the year since his death, our family has been comforted and encouraged by the outpouring of support from alumni of Notre Dame academy and the entire Green Bay community.
On Sunday, with the backing of this community and the partnership of survivor advocates, we launched Nate’s Mission, a new statewide initiative with the goal of fulfilling Nate’s desire to end clergy abuse and bring justice and healing to survivors, their families, and the church. Our effort started with the Norbertines, but it will not end until every diocese and religious order has been held accountable, when the full truth has been told, when the systems that allowed these crimes to occur have been reformed, when all survivors - especially those from marginalized groups - have access to healing, and when their experience is memorialized as a stronghold against its recurrence.
We are taking this fight from Green Bay to the Wisconsin Department of Justice as we lobby Attorney General Josh Kaul to open a statewide investigation into clergy abuse and cover-up in Wisconsin. Furthermore, we are seeking the support of Wisconsin’s state legislature in passing the Child Victims Act and the Clergy Mandatory Reporter Act, laws that would eliminate the civil statute of limitations for child sex crimes and close the loophole that exempts clergy from the requirement to report child sexual abuse. These goals are within our reach, and with your support, Nate’s Mission can become a reality in Wisconsin.
If we are to be successful, we will need your help. We are asking supporters of Nate’s Mission for the following:
Donate to our cause: help us build our team and provide us with the resources we need to carry out our mission across Wisconsin.
Contact the Attorney General: Write to Josh Kaul and tell his office we need a statewide investigation into clergy abuse. Find instructions here.
Join us. Fill out the contact form on our website and let our team know you are interested in being a part of this work.
Finally, we ask that you share this message with your family and friends. For many years, victims like Nate suffered in silence. Nate’s mission in life was to ensure what happened to him would never happen to another child or another survivor of clergy sexual abuse. In his memory, we begin this work.
Thank you for your support,
Aaron Lindstrom and the Nate’s Mission Team