Washington D.C., Aug 28, 2018 / 17:15 pm
Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò has released a statement responding to accusations that he had curtailed an investigation in 2014 into the sexual misconduct of Archbishop John C. Nienstedt.
"These accusations – alleging that I ordered the two Auxiliary Bishops of Minneapolis to close the investigation into the life of Archbishop John C. Nienstedt – are false," wrote Vigano in a statement published online Aug. 27.
The former apostolic nuncio published a testimony two days prior, calling for the resignation of Pope Francis and several cardinals and bishops on the basis of his accusation that they had covered-up the sexual misconduct of Archbishop Theodore McCarrick.
Media accounts of that testimony included the allegation that in 2014, Vigano had attempted to stop an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct on the part Archbishop John Nienstedt, who was at that time Archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis.