MINNESOTA
Minnesota Public Radio
Archbishop John Nienstedt’s sworn testimony about his handling of sexual abuse allegations in the Twin Cities Catholic church will be released Tuesday, according to a St. Paul victims’ attorney.
The four-hour deposition took place April 2. It is part of a lawsuit brought by a man who says he was sexually abused by the Rev. Thomas Adamson in the mid-1970s. The lawsuit claims the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and the Diocese of Winona created a public nuisance by refusing for decades to release information about abusive priests. It says that the actions of top church officials continue to put children at risk.
Attorney Jeff Anderson, who is representing the plaintiff in the case and conducted the four-hour deposition, said questioning ended heatedly when he asked the archbishop to turn over the files of offending priests to police. Anderson will release video of the questioning, along with a transcript, at a Tuesday morning news conference.
The deposition marked the first time Nienstedt has had to answer questions under oath about clergy sexual abuse in the Twin Cities since he was appointed to lead the archdiocese six years ago. In 2006, he testified under oath in a lawsuit involving the Diocese of New Ulm, where he served as bishop before coming to the Twin Cities.
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