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MINNEAPOLIS — Attorneys for victims of alleged sexual abuse by clergy are asking a judge in St. Paul to order the archdiocese to turn over its electronic data on accused priests — such as emails, texts and data on hard drives — so they can get an even deeper look at what church leaders knew and when.If the judge agrees, attorney Jeff Anderson said, the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis will be required to turn over more of its internal communications than ever before.”I think it really will give us a very deep insight into the inner workings (of the church) and the conscious choices bein…

The head of USA Swimming recently offered a dramatic apology to the young swimmers who were victims of sexual abuse in his organization — four years after he told ABC News he had nothing to be sorry for. “I’m sorry,” read the first words of a post by USA Swimming Executive Director Chuck Wielgus, published on a USA Swimming blog Friday. “Those are powerful words some people have wanted to hear from me for a long time.” Wielgus said he has been criticized for years for “not apologizing for not having done more to prevent sexual abuse by [swim] coaches” and said he brought the critici…

A Catholic priest in northern Mexico is still nowhere to be found after 19 people filed a sexual abuse criminal complaint against him with authorities late last month.Eduardo Córdova, a clergyman and legal representative for the church in the state of San Luis Potosi, is accused of using his clout to prey upon minors over the course of his 30-year career.Evidence has been passed on to prosecutors but no formal charges have been filed yet. Cordova’s current whereabouts are unknown.The Vatican has since stripped Córdova of his clerical functions, following investigations into the alleged sexual …

Archbishop Carlson Deposition Clip  

When the Rev. Joseph D. Ross was assigned to minister at St. Cronan Church, the other priest there already knew his secret.He heard the pastor coming to help him in 1991 had just returned from the St. Luke Institute in Silver Spring, Md., a mental health treatment center for Catholic clergy, according to court filings.The priest recognized that in all likelihood this was code for Ross having just undergone therapy for a sexual attraction to children. Although the priest worried about the well-being of the parishioners, according to court filings, the Archdiocese of St. Louis assured him that R…

The Rev. Timothy McCarthy was the “kids’ pastor” who wore sneakers under his vestments and dropped profanities into his sermons. Girls had crushes on him, and parents let their children go camping with him.When McCarthy abruptly resigned the priesthood in 1991, he told his flock at the Church of the Most Holy Redeemer in Maplewood that he had outgrown Catholic Church dogma. He was quitting, he said, to go down a new spiritual path.But newly released files reveal that the church ousted McCarthy after allegations that he sexually abused two boys early in his career and later engaged in an…

Archbishop Emeritus Harry Flynn’s sworn testimony, taken May 14, 2014, has been released publicly. Flynn’s deposition was taken in a civil lawsuit involving a man sexually abused in the 1970s by former priest Thomas Adamson.  The entire deposition transcript and video clips are available at http://www.andersonadvocates.com. A DVD copy of the video deposition is also available at our office…

Click Here for Harry Flynn Deposition Transcript 05-14-2014 Clips from Flynn’s Deposition </iframe

Deposition of Fr. Peter Laird Deposition

(St. Paul, MN) – The sworn testimony of the Archdiocese’s former Vicar General Father Peter Laird has been publicly released by attorneys as a part of a civil lawsuit filed in 2013 in Ramsey County; Doe 1 vs. the Archdiocese of St. Paul & Minneapolis, Diocese of Winona and Father Thomas Adamson. “Father Laird’s deposition raises serious questions about Archbishop Nienstedt…