The deposition that Archbishop John Nienstedt gave as part of a civil lawsuit in a case of alleged clergy sexual abuse has been posted on the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis’ website.
“We offer the deposition in its entirety, as part of our renewed commitment to transparency,” the archdiocese said in an April 22 statement as this edition of The Catholic Spirit went to press.
The deposition was conducted April 2 by attorneys for a plaintiff known as “John Doe 1.”
The plaintiff alleges that a former priest of the Diocese of Winona, Thomas Adamson, who had assignments in the archdiocese, sexually abused him in 1976 or 1977 when he was a minor.
“The archbishop answered every question asked,” the archdiocese noted.
He was not asked any questions about Doe 1 or Adamson, although he did respond to all questions posed to him during the four-hour time period as prescribed by the court.
