MINNESOTA
Winona Post
By Chris Rogers
For the first time ever — as best as church officials could tell — an American diocese voluntarily released the details of reports of child sexual abuse by its priests and a Winona bishop publicly stated that he believes that the allegations are true.
Following a court order, the Diocese of Winona (DOW) released the names of 14 priests “credibly accused” of child sexual abuse last December. On Monday, the diocese released additional information about reports of abuse the diocese received over decades, including, in many cases, when the reports were made and what was done.
“We have learned that we need to be transparent and honest in order for people to understand that what we’re doing [now] is different and children are being protected,” said Bishop John Quinn, explaining the decision to release the summaries. DOW Director of Communications Joel Hennessy and public relations consultant Laurie Archbold noted the criticism of the diocese in recent news reports, and described the release as an opportunity for the diocese to be honest about the past and demonstrate how it has changed.
Most of the reported abuses took place during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Nine of the alleged abusers are deceased, two have already been laicized, and another two are facing laicization. In most of the cases, reports of abuse were apparently not relayed to law enforcement officials. The Minnesota mandatory reporting law, which requires people who work with children to convey reports of child abuse to law enforcement agencies, was enacted in 1975.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.