A report by The Associated Press published on KSTP News said that top officials of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis are scheduled for depositions in relation to a lawsuit filed by a former altar boy who claimed he was abused by a priest in the 1970s. Former priest Thomas Adamson, along with the archdiocese and the Diocese of Winona had been named in the lawsuit filed by a an unnamed plaintiff.
Adamson was accused of of sexually abusing the plaintiff, who was then an altar boy to the defendant's assigned church in St Paul Park. The plaintiff claimed in the lawsuit that he was abused by Adamson between 1976 and 1977.
According to AP, Archbishop John Nienstedt's deposition will be on March 19, while former vicar general of the archdiocese, Rev. Kevin McDonough, will be giving his testimony the following day, March 20.
A judge of a Ramsey County court rejected the attempts of the archdiocese to block the depositions of the church officials and Father John Brown. Brown, who is now retired in Maplewood, allegedly abused children in the 1950s and 1960s. Under the order of Judge John Van de North, Anderson can take Brown's testimony to determine how the archdiocese had handled his sexual abuse cases to shed light on the handling of his own case.
The case of "John Doe 1," who reportedly is the former alter boy identified in the case, has caused an uproar within the local church in the Minnesota capital. The archdiocese has since defended its clergy from being publicly judged with Van de North's latest order, which was the drawing of a list of priests who have been charged of sexual abuse allegations, said the Star Tribune.
In a statement as a response to Van de North's court order, the archdiocese said, "We strongly assert our pursuit of justice for any who are falsely accused. All of these goals are the basis for every action and decision we are making regarding this ongoing disclosure."
