MINNESOTA
Pioneer Press
By MARINO ECCHER | meccher@pioneerpress.com
PUBLISHED: July 21, 2016
John Nienstedt, the former archbishop of the Archdiocese of Minneapolis and St. Paul, said accusations of sexual misconduct against him were part of a false smear campaign in response to his opposition to gay marriage.
Nienstedt’s denial came in a statement Wednesday night, first issued to KSTP and Minnesota Public Radio. That followed the release of internal church documents alleging the Vatican had sought to derail an independent investigation that turned up credible evidence against him.
Nienstedt resigned last year as archbishop and returned to his home state of Michigan. He was briefly involved with a diocese there but left when parishioners objected to his presence.
He said the accusations — which range from him frequenting gay clubs to making unwanted advances toward priests and seminary students — were decades old and baseless. He said he believes they’re “due to my unwavering stance on issues consistent with Catholic Church teaching, such as opposition to so-called same sex marriage.
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