Archbishop Deposition On Abuse Made Public (CBS)

ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO/AP) – Attorneys for victims of alleged sexual abuse by priests have released the deposition of Twin Cities Archbishop John Nienstedt to the public.

Nienstedt is head of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. On April 2, he testified about the church’s response to sexual abuse allegations. It was the first time since Nienstedt became archbishop six years ago that he has had to answer these questions under oath.

The deposition was taken as part of a lawsuit filed by a man who claims a priest abused him in the 1970s. However, cases were addressed in the deposition spanning through 2012.

Attorney Jeff Anderson, who represents the victims in these cases, said the issue here is why Nienstedt didn’t report suspicions or allegations of abuse to law enforcement or the public in a timely matter.

In one part of the deposition, Anderson questions Nienstedt on why he didn’t bring sexual abuse allegations straight to law enforcement — who are professionally trained in handling these types of cases. Nienstedt’s attorney then objects, accusing Anderson of creating his own soundbites before the testimony becomes heated.

Anderson claims Nienstedt was trying to protect the Archdiocese and not the children of alleged abuse.

In another video released of the deposition, Anderson can be heard asking Nienstedt if he’s ever reprimanded or taken disciplinary action against any priest accused of mishandling child sexual abuse allegations to which Nienstedt replies, “I don’t believe so, no.” He then answers “no” when asked if he believes he should have.

Church lawyers tried to block the deposition, claiming it wasn’t relevant to the case. But a Ramsey County judge and the Minnesota Court of Appeals disagreed.

Officials say this is a step towards getting the top church officials to handle things differently from here on out.

“The deposition captures, that I believe, a harsh reality that the promises and the pledges made by this Archbishop and his predecessors that the kids in our communities are safe, are not true and have been broken,” Anderson said.

The archdiocese said earlier that Nienstedt explained under oath that children’s safety is the highest priority.

Anderson said that he hopes this will change the course of certain practices within the archdiocese, both now and in the future.

As for the next step, Anderson said he will be filing a motion in the next few weeks to continue these depositions, as he says he has more questions for Nienstedt that have not been answered.

The archdiocese has not released any comments regarding the deposition but say they are working to be more transparent in the future.

Read the full Archbishop Deposition here.

Nienstedt On Failing To Report To Police

Nienstedt Advised By McDonough

Nienstedt On Viewing Images On Father Shelley’s Computer

Nienstedt On Failure To Discipline

Nienstedt On Father Curtis Wehmeyer

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