MINNESOTA
BishopAccountability.org – Assignment Record
[Note: BishopAccountability.org is researching and posting the assignment histories of all the U.S. bishops known to have been accused of sexually abusing children.]
Summary of Case: A parish priest of the archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis for 25 years, Dudley was made an Auxilliary bishop of the archdiocese in 1977, then elevated to bishop of the Sioux Falls diocese in 1978. He retired in 1995 to his hometown of Northfield, MN. In 1999 a woman accused Dudley of having molested her in the 1970s. It was after he was accused in 2002 of having fondled an altar boy in the 1950s that Dudley resigned from ministry, vowing to return when he was exonerated. He strongly denied all allegations. A second woman came forward in 2002 alleging innapropriate behavior toward her by Dudley in the 1960s. An investigator hired by the archdiocese could not substantiate the accusations. Dudley died in November 2006.
Ordained: 1951
Episcopal Ordination: Jan. 25, 1977
Retired: 1995
Died: November 20, 2006
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