MINNESOTA
Minnesota Public Radio

by Madeleine Baran, Minnesota Public Radio,
Tom Scheck, Minnesota Public Radio
November 11, 2013

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Archbishop John Nienstedt has backed away from a promise to release the names of some priests in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis who have sexually abused children.

Nienstedt initially told MPR News on Friday that, in a reversal of a decades-old policy, he would release some of the names this month — and that more could be made public after a private firm hired by the archdiocese reviews all clergy files.

“For the sake of the dignity of each human person and for the sake of our souls, we must fix this problem of sexual misconduct right now,” he said. “For the sake of the God we love and serve and for all who are counting on Catholic leadership to live by our…