Rev. Michael J. Keating- Assignment Record

Assignment Record – Rev. Michael Jerome Keating

Summary of Case: Ordained a priest of the St. Paul-Minneapolis archdiocese at age 46 in 2002, Keating was an assistant parish priest for three years before settling into a career as an associate professor of Catholic studies at the University of St. Thomas. In 2006 the parents of a young woman reported to the archdiocese and to law enforcement that Keating sexually abused their daughter from 1997-2000, beginning when she was 13 years-old. Keating was a seminarian at the time, and almost 30 years the girl's senior. The family gave archdiocesan investigators emails the girl had received from Keating in which he professed his love for her. An internal archdiocesan investigation also yielded allegations that Keating had an "at best emotionally intense and at worst sexually abusive relationships with as many as four young women or girls", including a 14-year-old Italian girl he met while studying for the priesthood in Rome. The archdiocesan review board determined that there was not enough evidence, but that Keating should be restricted from ministering to young adults or adolescents. He nonetheless continued to as a chaplain and teacher of young people at St. Thomas. He was not charged criminally. The young woman who's family went to the archdiocese in 2006 filed charges against Keating in October 2013, and went public with the accusations. Keating denied the abuse and went on a leave of absence.

Ordained: 2002

Start	Stop	Parish/Assignment	Town/Accusations	State	Position	Notes
St. Paul- Minneapolis archbishop was Harry Joseph Flynn (1995- 2008)	2002	St. Paul Seminary	St. Paul • In 2006 the parents of a young woman reported to the archdiocese that Keating sexually abused their daughter from 1997-2000, beginning when the girl was 13 years-old. Keating was a seminarian during the years of the alleged abuse, and 29 years the girl's senior. Keating was a friend of the girl's parents and a frequent overnight guest. Keating denied the abuse. • A fellow priest told the archdiocesan official investigating the allegations against Keating in 2006 that Keating had " very emotionally intense and perhaps physically sexual relationships "with two under aged young women, including a 14 year-old Italian girl he met while he was studying for the priesthood in Rome. The archdiocesan investigator, then vicar-general Rev. Kevin McDonough, found that "A number of people have commented on the intensely connected emotional relationship that Michael Keating and [the girl] had, and a variety of kisses and other embraces that were publicly visible." The Italian girl denied that Keating had done anything inappropriate.	MN	seminarian
2002	2005	St. John the Baptist	New Brighton	MN	2/2	St. John the Baptist's had a school with 439-440 students, and a CCD program with 745-529 students. Keating's accuser stated in 2013 that the priest gave her his car in 2004, after she confronted him about the abuse.
2005 Flynn was succeeded by John Clayton Nienstedt (2008 - )	2013	University of St. Thomas	St. Paul	MN	Catholic Studies associate professor; Habiger Institute for Catholic Leadership director; Rome Program manager; chaplain for Catholic men and women's campus houses	Keating's accuser reported her claim to the diocesan internal review board in 2006, and to law enforcement. Charges were not filed and the review board determined there was insufficient evidence; the young woman had given the board emails from the priest to her in which he professed his love for her. Keating was kept in ministry, but was to be restricted from "retreats, spiritual counseling or mentoring, particularly of adolescents or young adults." He nonetheless continued his work with young people.
2012	2013	Presbyteral Council: Deanery 16		MN		Keating's accuser filed a lawsuit against him in October 2013. Keating went on a leave of absence days before the suit was filed.

Sources: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 2003-2012)

Priests in a Parish: We use the following convention to show a priest's place among the clergy of a parish: 1/2 means that he is the first priest listed in the Official Catholic Directory (usually the pastor) and that there is a total of two priests at the parish. The shorthand 3/4 means that the priest is listed third on a four-priest roster. See our sample page from the Directory.

Note: The Official Catholic Directory aims to report the whereabouts of Catholic priests in the United States on January 1 of the Directory's publication year. Our working assumption is that a priest listed in the Directory for a given year was at the same assignment for part of the previous year as well. However, Kenedy and Sons will sometimes accept updates well into the year of publication. Diocesan clergy records are rarely available to correct this information. The Directory is also sometimes misleading or wrong. We have tried to create an accurate assignment record, given the source materials and their limitations. Assignment records are a work in progress and we are always improving the records that we post. Please email us with new information and corrections.

This assignment record collates Keating's career history as it is represented in the Official Catholic Directory with allegations as reported in the media. We make no representation regarding the truth of the allegation we report, and we remind our readers that the U.S. legal system presumes that a person accused of or charged with a crime is innocent until proven guilty. Similarly, individuals who may be defendants in civil actions are presumed not to be liable for such claims unless a plaintiff proves otherwise. Admissions of guilt or liability are not typically a part of civil or private settlements. For more information, see our posting policy.

This assignment record was last updated on Nov. 3, 2013