MINNESOTA
Star Tribune
Gallery: New Ulm Diocese releases names of accused priests
By Jean Hopfensperger Star Tribune MARCH 29, 2016
The names of 16 priests credibly accused of sexually abusing children in the New Ulm Diocese were released Tuesday morning, marking the final Minnesota diocese to make public a list of its clergy offenders.
Attorney Jeff Anderson made public the names at a news conference in St. Paul, following more than two years of demands for their publication. Already, victims advocates say the list is incomplete.
Anderson introduced two women abused by the same priest in the New Ulm Diocese and exhorted other child sex abuse victims to come forward before the deadline set in the Minnesota Child Victims Act for people to file old claims.
“They can do something in the next 58 days … to bring a claim against the diocese or the institution,” Anderson said. “The clock is ticking.”
The New Ulm list is significant because former St. Paul-Minneapolis Archbishop John Nienstedt had served in the New Ulm Diocese before his promotion to the archdiocese. Nienstedt stepped down last June after the Ramsey County Attorney’s office filed charges against the archdiocese, claiming it failed to protect children from pedophiles.
The list of names was agreed upon by the diocese and Anderson, who sued the New Ulm Diocese. At least three are still alive, including the Rev. Robert Clark, the Rev. Dennis Becker and the Rev. Douglas Schleisman, according to Anderson’s office. Anderson said his office would likely make other names public later.
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