MINNESOTA
Minnesota Public Radio
Madeleine Baran St. Paul, Minn. Feb 11, 2014
A Ramsey County judge has ordered the depositions of Archbishop John Nienstedt and former top deputy Rev. Kevin McDonough within 30 days.
The ruling by Judge John Van de North comes in a case brought by a man who says he was sexually abused by the Rev. Thomas Adamson in 1976 and 1977.
Nienstedt will be questioned on the policies and practices of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis in handling abuse allegations, including whether the archdiocese followed its own policies.
The judge repeatedly noted that retired Archbishop Harry Flynn led the national committee that drafted the church’s standards for clergy sexual abuse cases. He said he didn’t know why those policies would not therefore be followed by the archdiocese.
Although Tuesday’s ruling applies only to this lawsuit, “it’s hard not to see it as a bellwether case,” Van de North said.
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