Nienstedt resigns after action against archdiocese

Archbishop John Nienstedt of Saint Paul and Minneapolis resigned on Monday, 10 days after state authorities filed a criminal complaint against the archdiocese for its mishandling of sex-abuse charges. Pope Francis accepted his resignation and that of auxiliary Bishop Lee Piché of St Paul. Archbishop Bernard Hebda, coadjutor archbishop of Newark, New Jersey, was named apostolic administrator.

Nienstedt said, “The Catholic Church is not our Church, but Christ’s, and we are merely stewards for a time. My leadership has drawn attention away from the good works of his Church and those who perform them. Thus, my decision to step down.” 

In April 2013, complaints about the archdiocese’s handling of sex-abuse claims became public when a former chancellor of the archdiocese disclosed what she charged were the archbishop’s mishandling of allegations against a priest subsequently convicted of child abuse.