MINNESOTA
Minnesota Public Radio
Madeleine Baran St. Paul, Minn. Oct 23, 2014
The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis has released the names of 17 additional priests accused of sexual abuse, as part of a settlement of a clergy abuse lawsuit.
Four of the names were previously unknown to the public. They include the Revs. Robert Clark, Donald Dummer, Harry Majerus and John Owens.
In a statement, Archbishop John Nienstedt said he released the names as part of a legal settlement reached last week with attorney Jeff Anderson. Nienstedt said the 17 men “have substantiated claims against them of sexually abusing a minor while they were assigned as priests.”
However, the archbishop did not explain why the archdiocese had kept the allegations secret. Nor did he provide information on the alleged sex crimes or when the archdiocese learned of them.
The disclosure also raises questions about the archdiocese’s previous statements that it had already released every name. Nienstedt’s statement does not explain how the archdiocese determined that more priests had “substantiated claims” against them. Nienstedt did not respond to an interview request.
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