Archbishop Nienstedt Accused of Inappropriately Touching Boy

Star Tribune
December 17, 2013

http://www.startribune.com/local/236221001.html

Archbishop John Nienstedt has been accused of inappropriately touching a boy, the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis announced Tuesday. Nienstedt will remove himself immediately from public ministry while the matter is investigated.

A statement released Tuesday morning said, “An allegation has been brought by a mandated reporter within the Church to the St. Paul Police of inappropriate touching of a minor male on the buttocks by Archbishop John Nienstedt. The single incident is alleged to have occurred in 2009 during a group photography session with the archbishop following a confirmation ceremony.

“Archbishop Nienstedt emphatically denies the allegation.”

The statement said that upon learning of the allegation last week, the archdiocese instructed the mandated reporter to make the matter known to the police.

“The archbishop and the archdiocese stand ready to cooperate fully with the St. Paul Police,” the statement said.

The archdiocese has been rocked by allegations of clergy sex abuse and assertions that church officials covered up some situations. On Sunday Nienstedt spoke at Our Lady of Grace Church in Edina, where several accused priests were assigned, and apologized for clergy abuse. At the time, he said he had should have investigated allegations of sex abuse more thoroughly.