MINNESOTA
Star Tribune
Article by: JEAN HOPFENSPERGER , Star Tribune Updated: January 3, 2014
Archdiocese must file a second list of accused priests next week.
The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis will be in court Friday morning to argue that the names of some priests accused of child sexual abuse should not be included in a second list it must file by Monday.
Attorneys for the archdiocese say that the Ramsey County District Court order requiring the release of a second list of names — this time of all priests accused of abuse after 2004, regardless of whether they were “credibly accused” — is ambiguous and could harm the reputation of innocent priests.
The diocese of Winona wrote a letter to the court, supporting the archdiocese.
“Rumors spread by a mentally unbalanced individual, by a disgruntled parish employee, by conservative parishioners disliking a liberal pastor [or vice versa]…. would have to be publicly disclosed without regard to credibility,” wrote the archdiocese’ attorney Tom Wieser, in a Dec. 18 letter to Ramsey County Judge John Van de North.
The attorney for the victim who filed the lawsuit against the archdiocese, resulting in the court order, asked the judge to deny the request in a Dec. 20 letter.
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