MINNESOTA
Bring Me The News
January 23, 2014 By Tim Lammers
A new Minnesota Public Radio News investigation has revealed a “stealth financial system” in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis that allowed for payments for numerous infractions – including the removal of priests who committed child sex abuse – without attracting attention.
MPR says it analyzed thousands of private internal archdiocese documents, and found internal financial reports that showed the archdiocese used the stealth accounts to pay out nearly $11 million from 2002 to 2011 – which equated to about 3 percent of the archdiocese’s overall revenues during that time period.
The costs were tied to suspected priest misconduct under former Archbishop Harry Flynn and his successor, Archbishop John Nienstedt, MPR reports.
According to MPR, the secret account also provided financial support for children fathered by priests and other legal settlements. The secrecy, however, also left…