MINNEAPOLIS (MN)
Star Tribune
February 11, 2019
By Jean Hopfensperger
Pope Francis will convene a historic clergy sex abuse summit this month, and many Minnesota Catholics are watching to see if it tackles an issue close to home — what to do about reported misconduct by bishops.
It’s an issue felt keenly in the Twin Cities, where the halted 2014 investigation into former Archbishop John Nienstedt is considered by many Catholics as a case study of all that can go wrong when the church has no clear, independent policies for investigating its top leaders.
St. Paul and Minneapolis Archbishop Bernard Hebda is among U.S. bishops now urging the creation of a national commission, with lay members, to tackle reports of bishop wrongdoing. It could build far more public trust than what transpired in St. Paul, which hasn’t been fully resolved even after four years, many Catholics say.
“I hope that what we went through in the Twin Cities shows the compelling need for reform,” said Hank Shea, law professor at the University of St. Thomas and a former assistant U.S. attorney. “Those lessons should be heeded by every American archbishop and bishop to avoid their repetition elsewhere.”
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