By Jerome Christenson, Winona Daily News
On May 31, 1958, Thomas Paul Adamson was ordained a priest for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Winona.
More than a half-century later, the Diocese of Winona has received 36 accusations of child sexual abuse by Adamson, one of 17 men who served as priests in the diocese who have substantiated claims against them of sexually abusing a minor.
The names of those 17 men, among the 320 Minnesota religious of all denominations — including priests, ministers, clerics, nuns and staff — credibly accused of sexual abuse as compiled by SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests), are known largely because of a piece of state law that expires this week.