A county judge in Minnesota has given the Catholic Church just two
weeks to turn over the names of at least 33 priests who are accused of
abusing children.
After nearly 30 years of fighting for the names to be released,
advocates finally convinced Ramsey County Judge John Van De North to
order the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis to reveal the name of
the alleged abusers, according to WCCO.
The church compiled a list of the clergy accused of child abuse in
2004, but a 2009 ruling had kept it private. Judge Van De North also
ordered the church to reveal any priests who have been accused since
2004.
“The
era of secrecy around the identities of those offenders is now drawing
to and nearing an end,” attorney Jeff Anderson, who represents victims
of abuse, explained.
“Survivors who suffered alone in silence, thinking
they are the only ones abused now know they may not be alone”
Last month, Archbishop John Nienstedt had promised to release some —
but not all — of the names the advocates had been calling for.
In a statement on Monday, the Archdiocese said it was “grateful for
the approval of Ramsey County court to release information relating to
priests who have been credibly accused of sexual abuse of minors in our
archdiocese.”
The Archdiocese vowed to release the names by the end of the week.