Clergy Abuse Deposition Held in St. Paul

KARE
April 17, 2014

http://www.kare11.com/story/news/local/2014/04/16/clergy-abuse-deposition-held-in-st-paul/7800099/

[with video]

The former Vicar General for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis testified Wednesday about church sexual abuse cases.

The deposition was in downtown St. Paul in the Law offices of the Attorneys of the Archdiocese

Kevin McDonough answered questions under oath regarding how top church leaders handled child abuse allegations.

The deposition lasted over six hours.

Jeff Anderson, the attorney for the alleged sex abuse victims, says McDonough did not answer the final question in the deposition.

In a written news release from Jeff Anderson's law firm, Anderson says he asked "Father McDonough if he, Jeff Anderson, had exaggerated the risk posed to the public by the practices employed by the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. McDonough replied there has been some exaggeration in some cases. When asked what instances those were, McDonough refused to answer the question and was instructed by his attorneys that the deposition had concluded and time had expired."

Anderson's news release also stated: "Our position is that we were given eight hours of testimony for this deposition," said Anderson, "and their position was that we had six and half hours of testimony. We hope to release the deposition as soon as possible." Anderson expects the Court will allow additional time to continue the deposition as the Archdiocese failed to supply all the materials prior to the deposition, as ordered by the Court.

Later Wednesday evening, the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis released their statement: "In today's deposition, Father Kevin McDonough responded to questions about his involvement with the archdiocese's handling of matters involving allegations of clergy sexual abuse while he served as Vicar General between 1991 and 2008, and Delegate for Safe Environment from 2008 to 2013. When needed, he clarified misstatements and mischaracterizations of the incidents that occurred while he held these positions. Fr. McDonough cooperated throughout the session which met the court-ordered eight-hour requirement. Father McDonough emphasized that he always had the best interests of children and the vulnerable in mind when doing his work. He also acknowledged that the harm cause by sexual abuse is serious and grave."

"The protection of children from clergy sexual abuse is the highest priority of this archdiocese. We continue to work with law enforcement to report all known cases of abuse of a minor or vulnerable adult to police. We have and will continue to publically release information on accused clergy through our website. Our goals, and the basis for every action and decision we make, remain the protection of children, the healing of victims, and the restoration of trust of the faithful and our clergy who are serving our communities nobly and with honor."

McDonough's deposition comes two weeks after Archbishop John Nienstedt answered questions in connection with a lawsuit filed by a man who claims he was sexually abused by a priest in the 1970s.