MINNESOTA
Minnesota Public Radio

Madeleine Baran Jun 15, 2015

Nearly two years into a clergy sex abuse scandal, Archbishop John Nienstedt has resigned as head of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis.

The Vatican said Pope Francis accepted the resignations of Nienstedt, 68, and Auxiliary Bishop Lee Piche, 57. They resigned under the church law that allows bishops to resign before they retire because of illness or some other “grave” reason that makes them unfit for office.

• Nienstedt’s departure makes him only the second American bishop in the Catholic Church to resign as the result of a clergy sex abuse scandal.

• The Rev. Bernard Hebda, coadjutor archbishop of Newark, N.J., has been named temporary administrator of the archdiocese.

When Nienstedt arrived in the Twin Cities in 2007, he said his motto as archbishop would be unity, as he explained in a 2010 interview.

“I wanted to…