MINNESOTA
The New Civil Rights Movement
Judge Forces Archdiocese to Release Material Pertaining to Nienstedt’s Role in Abuse Scandal
by CASEY MICHEL on APRIL 2, 2014
Over the last half-dozen years, Archbishop John Nienstedt has been one of the most outspoken opponents of granting any LGBT rights, either in his home state of Minnesota or across the nation. He has found a series of supporters, but he’s also managed to turn himself into one of the most reviled characters both the Catholic Church and the anti-gay marriage movement has managed to produce.
Fortunately, Nienstedt’s rancid views seem to finally be catching up with him.
In the midst of an ongoing investigation into decades of sex abuse cover-ups within the Minneapolis archdiocese, a judge ruled last week against the archdiocese’s request to delay the release of abuse documentation. While the church will not be releasing the entirety of its documentation next week, Ramsey County District Judge John Van de North ruled that the archdiocese must release those documents most relevant to Nienstedt, who was deposed today.
As the judge noted, it was important to keep the archdiocese’s “feet to the fire.” Moreover, if the church does not release all relevant documentation by Wednesday, the possibility remains for a follow-up deposition for the embattled archbishop.
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