Minnesota archdiocese to arrange independent audit of sex-abuse files

October 25, 2013

Archbishop John Nienstedt of St. Paul-Minneapolis, Minnesota, has announced plans to commission an independent audit of archdiocesan sex-abuse policies.

The archbishop, who has acknowledged that complaints about archdiocesan handling of sex-abuse complaints have sapped public confidence in the Church, said that he is considering several different national firms to conduct the audit.

The archdiocese recently retained legal counsel to start the process, the archdiocese said, and Nienstedt is interviewing several national firms with expertise in clergy file review to supplement its efforts. “The first thing that must be acknowledged is that over the last decade, some serious mistakes have been made,” he wrote in the archdiocesan newspaper.

 

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Further information:

• Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis Confronts Scandal (National Catholic Register)
• Archbishop Nienstedt to hire firm for review of priests (Star-Tribune)
• Minnesota archbishop acknowledges crisis of confidence (CWN, 10/24)