Archbishop John Nienstedt said he was not aware that known child sex abusers were working at the archdiocese during his tenure, nor did he track exactly which priests were being monitored, according to testimony released Tuesday.continue at Strib
Nienstedt’s extraordinary deposition, ordered by a judge and the first of its kind by a serving archbishop in Minnesota, was taken April 2 as part of a clergy sex abuse lawsuit. The claim is one of dozens brought against the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis since a change in state law last year opened a wider window for pursuing child sex abuse claims.
Nienstedt said that when he became archbishop in 2008 he was briefed about clergy abuse by key archdiocese officials. He testified he didn’t remember the names of any abusive priests mentioned, how many were being monitored or the names of all the archdiocese officials present.
Nienstedt also said he didn’t request the list of “credibly accused” priests that all dioceses are required to maintain. Nor, he recalled, did he press for parishes to be told about the presence of clergy members who were being monitored because of previous child sexual misconduct reports.
“I believe that we felt that we could monitor the situation without making a total disclosure to the people,” testified Nienstedt, adding that he no longer feels that way.
“I think over my tenure as being archbishop, I have had new insights into how we should proceed with these — these situations,” he said.
Haven't watched video, just read the article, nothing shocking here, I guess a way to keep it in the news cycle. Maybe there's more in the video on some of the specific cases.
Video: The complete Archbishop Nienstedt deposition
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