An American archbishop has temporarily stepped down while police are investigating a claim that he inappropriately touched a minor in 2009.
Archbishop John Nienstedt of St Paul, Minnesota, has denied the allegation that he touched a male youth’s buttocks during a group photo at a confirmation ceremony.
The archbishop said he did not know the identity of the youth, but said: “This allegation is absolutely and entirely false.”
“I have never once engaged in any inappropriate contact with a minor and I have tried to the very best of my ability to serve this archdiocese and the church faithfully, with honour and due regard for the rights of all,” he said in a statement.
The archbishop said it was his normal practice to stand for group photos “with one hand on my crozier and the other either on the right shoulder of the newly confirmed or on my pallium, which hangs from my chest.”
It was announced yesterday that he was voluntarily stepping aside from all public ministry, which means he will not participate in the solemnities of Christmas and the Mother of God. Bishop Lee Piché, an auxiliary in the St Paul archdiocese, will now cover the archbishop’s tasks.
Archbishop Nienstedt has been facing pressure to resign since a former chancellor of the archdiocese charged that he and other archdiocesan officials were not following church norms for the protection of children. The former chancellor, Jennifer Haselberger, stood down in April.
The archbishop recently released the names of 29 priests against whom accusations of abuse of children have been deemed “credible” and “substantiated”, and an additional four priests facing charges that have not been substantiated.
Loading ...
