ST. PAUL, Minn. – A judge has ruled that the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and the Diocese of Winona do not have to make public a list of priests suspected of sexual abuse.
ST. PAUL, Minn. – A judge has ruled that the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and the Diocese of Winona do not have to make public a list of priests suspected of sexual abuse.
Jeff Anderson, a St. Paul lawyer, was seeking the list as part of a lawsuit on behalf of an alleged abuse victim. Anderson was given the list Monday but is barred from revealing its contents.
Lawyers for the church had argued that because church leaders thought the list would remain private, they had included on it everyone who had been accused – regardless of whether the charges were proven.
The trial is scheduled to start June 1. The list can still be used at trial, but now hearings must be held before any names are released.
In a hearing this month, Anderson argued that the list should be made public to protect children from the men who have been removed from the priesthood but many of whom still live in the area.
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