Former Archbishop Harry Flynn Dies at 86

By Patrick Condon
Star Tribune
September 24, 2019

http://www.startribune.com/former-archbishop-harry-flynn-dies-at-86/561143822/

Former Archbishop Harry J. Flynn, pictured in 2003.

Former Archbishop Harry Flynn, who led Minnesota's largest Catholic diocese for more than a dozen years and struggled with fallout from the church's sexual abuse scandal as it played out across the country, has died. He was 86.

The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis reported that Flynn died Sunday night. The Rev. John Malone, a longtime friend and colleague, said Flynn had several bouts with cancer in recent years and had moved into hospice care in the Twin Cities last Tuesday.

"He never wanted to be a bishop," said Malone, who was a professor and administrator at the University of St. Thomas. "He'd do anything he could to get out of the office. He was a man who wanted to be present to the people he served."

Flynn took over as archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis in 1995, after previously working in New York, Maryland and Louisiana. In 2002, he led a task force of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops that looked into the clergy sexual abuse crisis.

Flynn retired in 2008, but continued to live in Minnesota until his death. Following later revelations of abuse by archdiocesan priests during his tenure, he resigned from the University of St. Thomas Board of Trustees in 2013.

Two years later, in a deposition related to abuse lawsuits, Flynn said under oath that he recalled few details of steps taken under his watch in his own diocese to root out problem priests. He didn't recall ever trying to defrock a priest despite later evidence of numerous offenders during that time, he said.

"All of that took a significant toll on him," said Sister Fran Donnelly, who served under Flynn as director of ministry during most of his tenure.