MINNESOTA
Minnesota Public Radio
by Madeleine Baran, Minnesota Public Radio,
Tom Scheck, Minnesota Public Radio
November 11, 2013
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Archbishop John Nienstedt has backed away from a promise to release the names of some priests in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis who have sexually abused children.
Nienstedt initially told MPR News on Friday that, in a reversal of a decades-old policy, he would release some of the names this month — and that more could be made public after a private firm hired by the archdiocese reviews all clergy files.
“For the sake of the dignity of each human person and for the sake of our souls, we must fix this problem of sexual misconduct right now,” he said. “For the sake of the God we love and serve and for all who are counting on Catholic leadership to live by our beliefs and our word, I will not allow it to stand.”
But less than 36 hours after Nienstedt read those remarks, church officials started putting caveats on them. Nienstedt then revised his statement and sent a separate, private letter to clergy saying he believes he cannot release the names without the “permission of the relevant court.” …
Bob Schiwderski, director of the Minnesota chapter of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said Nienstedt’s action doesn’t go far enough. He said the archbishop should visit every parish where offending priests were assigned and announce that they were known to have abused children. It would give victims greater courage to come forward, he said, about abuse they suffered as children.
“If they’re going to release the names, then they should also go to where they dropped them on the families and unsuspecting children,” Schiwderski said.
Several archdioceses, including those in Philadelphia and Boston, have released detailed lists of priests accused of abusing children in response to earlier scandals.
Terence McKiernan, founder of the Bishop-Accountability.org watchdog site, has said the lists often contain few surprises, since so many names have already been made public.
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