A well-known priest from the Detroit area who went on to become archbishop in Minneapolis-St. Paul has stepped down from his post. Archbishop John Nienstedt resigned ten days after prosecutors charged the Catholic Archdiocese of mishandling repeated complaints related to clergy sex abuse.
He and Bishop Lee Piche were not charged in the case, but said they were stepping down to remove distractions from the archdiocese in the crisis. Archbishop Neinstedt, who was born in Detroit, had served at a number of Detroit area churches including the Shrine of the Little Flower, where he was pastor in the 1990’s