Former archdiocese deputy: Clergy abusers weren’t reported

MINNESOTA
Star Tribune

Article by: JEAN HOPFENSPERGER and CHAO XIONG , Star Tribune Updated: April 24, 2014

Former vicar general testified that he often destroyed notes from his meetings on priests’ sex misconduct.

The point person on clergy sex abuse for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis acknowledged that church practice allowed priests who sexually abused children to remain in the priesthood, usually in jobs where they would be less likely to have contact with children.

In a court-ordered deposition made public Thursday, the Rev. Kevin McDonough also said priests suspected of abusing children were not automatically reported to police, as required by law.

McDonough’s 320 pages of testimony provided new insights into the church’s response to child sex abuse allegations and capped a remarkable week of legal wrangling that included the release of the deposition of Archbishop John Nienstedt.

McDonough served as the second-highest-ranking local official in the Catholic Church for nearly two decades and under two archbishops. Under Nienstedt, he became the “delegate for safe environment,” overseeing child abuse prevention efforts until stepping down last year, shortly before news reports named him as a key decisionmaker in several abuse cases.

In his nearly seven-hour deposition, taken April 6, McDonough explained how the church had handled sex abusers over the years.

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