Judge Extends Deadline for Release of Clergy Lists

KARE
January 4, 2014

http://www.kare11.com/story/news/local/2014/01/03/judge-extends-deadline-for-release-of-clergy-lists/4312013/

[with video]

A judge has given the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and the Diocese of Winona more time to release a second list of priests accused of child sexual abuse.

The new list is made up of priests accused of sexual abuse of minors after 2004. That list was supposed to be released by the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and the Diocese of Winona on Monday.

But, lawyers for the Archdiocese requested court clarification on the term credibly accused because it was concerned about priests being falsely accused.

Jeff Anderson, who represents a plaintiff known as Doe No. 1, says the churches determination of falsely accused cannot be trusted.

In the end, the judge did not change his ruling on who is required to be named, but did suspend the deadline one month.

"We've waited 30 years to get this far, I guess we're going to wait another month to get that," Anderson said. "The bottom line is we know there are many names that are yet to be known to the public, many survivors still suffering in silence thinking they're the only ones."

The judge has also ordered both lawyers to provide recommendations on how accusations are investigated by police, the church and a possible, neutral third party appointed by the court.

The archdiocese released a statement to KARE 11 on Friday.

"The Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis is pleased that Judge Van de North carefully reviewed and considered the pending motion for clarification of the Court's Protective Order.

Judge Van de North affirmed his intention that all accusations of sexual abuse of a minor that have been made known to the archdiocese after 2004 should be disclosed to the Court. In doing so, he also considered the reasonable need for potential third-party review of claims that could be false or frivolous. The archdiocese is grateful to the Court for considering the importance of avoiding needless damage to the reputations of clergy members who have been falsely accused. The archdiocese looks forward to working with the Court and all affected parties to promote the protection of children and the healing of victims as we also address these reasonable concerns."