The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis said Thursday that it has
contacted nearly 50 law enforcement agencies in the past two weeks to
provide files on priests accused of child sexual abuse. However, none of
12 metro law enforcement agencies contacted by MPR News confirmed that
the archdiocese had offered files to review.
St. Paul Police Chief Thomas Smith criticized the archdiocese in
December for not assisting police in their investigations of clergy
sexual abuse. Victims of abuse and their attorneys have called for
police to force the archdiocese to turn over thousands of files on
priests accused of sexually abusing children. However, Smith and Ramsey
County Attorney John Choi have said they do not have enough evidence to
obtain search warrants.