MINNESOTA
Houston Chronicle
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A member of a task force reviewing issues related to allegations of clergy sexual misconduct in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis said Wednesday that he was sickened by reports suggesting church officials mishandled accusations against two priests, and he wants to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
“If the Catholic Church doesn’t fix this problem, its ability to act as a force of good in the world … is over,” said Brian Short. “This is a problem that needs to be fixed now, and fixed correctly.”
Short, a former legal mediator and U.S. magistrate, is among six members of a lay-person task force that will review how church officials dealt with accusations of priest misconduct.
Archbishop John Nienstedt created the task force as the archdiocese faces scrutiny for its handling of two priests — after one went on to molest two teens despite documents suggesting church leaders knew he had a sexual addiction, and after recent revelations that pornographic images, including some that appeared to be underage boys, were found on another priest’s computer in 2004 and never revealed.
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