MINNESOTA
Post-Bulletin
Editorial
Some wounds, if closed too quickly, can appear to heal on the surface while festering deep below the skin. When that happens, it can be necessary to reopen the wound, to expose and remove the infection.
Minnesota’s Catholic church is at such a point. The infection, in this case, is a list of alleged sex offenders among the clergy in each diocese in Minnesota.
Such lists were compiled across the nation in 2004 in response to a 2002 Boston Globe investigation of sexual abuse and coverup within the Catholic church. Five Boston-area priests were convicted and sentenced to prison, but this was merely the tip of an ugly iceberg. Since 2002, the church nationwide has paid more than $2.5 billion in settlements with more than 5,000 victims of sexual abuse.
But many victims have not yet had their day in court.
There are 178 dioceses in the United States, and about 150 of them have yet to reveal their list of accused clergy. That’s the case for every diocese in Minnesota, including the Diocese of Winona, where in 2004, 13 names appeared on the list. …
Your Turn
Every diocese of the Catholic Church in Minnesota is facing a lawsuit seeking the disclosure of lists of alleged sex abusers with the clergy, lists that the church has kept secret since 2004. Under a new law passed by the Minnesota Legislature in May, adults victims of long-ago sex abuse now have a three-year window in which to file civil claims against their alleged abusers and/or the abusers’ employer.
Should the church be required to release the names of the accused clergy, or should the church — which nationally has paid billions to settle lawsuits filed by abuse victims — be allowed to move past this ugly chapter in its history?
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