MINNESOTA
Minnesota Public Radio
Madeleine Baran Feb 11, 2015
The St. Paul Cathedral Regina McCombs / MPR News file
The Twin Cities archdiocese and a St. Paul law firm released more names Wednesday of priests they said had been accused of sexually abusing children, but neither provided information on the allegations.
The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis released four names and the law firm Jeff Anderson & Associates released 17 names. At least five of the men had already been identified publicly as alleged child abusers in lawsuits and media reports. MPR News is not naming most of the priests because of a lack of public information about the claims.
Also on Wednesday, Ramsey County Attorney John Choi said his office had declined to file criminal charges against two clergy members for alleged sex abuse because of insufficient evidence.
Facing huge financial losses because of abuse claims, the archdiocese filed in January for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The judge overseeing the process has ordered the church, insurers and victims into mediation to establish a fair system for determining compensation.
In a written statement about the disclosure of names, Archbishop John Nienstedt said the four men named Wednesday by the archdiocese “have substantiated claims against them of sexually abusing a minor while they were assigned as priests or, in the case of one, before he was a priest.”
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