Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
Catholic News ServiceApril 13, 2021
Pope Francis greets Bishop Michael J. Hoeppner of Crookston, Minn., in the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican Jan. 13, 2020. On April 13, 2021, the pope accepted Bishop Hoeppner's resignation and appointed retired Bishop Richard E. Pates of Des Moines, Iowa, to serve as the apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Crookston. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop Michael J. Hoeppner, 71, who has headed the Diocese of Crookston, Minnesota, since 2007.

The pope also named retired Bishop Richard E. Pates of Des Moines, Iowa, to serve as apostolic administrator of the 14-county diocese in northwestern Minnesota.

The changes were announced in Washington April 13 by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio.

In 2019 Bishop Hoeppner was publicly accused of trying to cover up allegations of sexual abuse against a priest of the diocese. He has denied he thwarted such an investigation.

In September 2019, Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda of St. Paul and Minneapolis confirmed he was overseeing an investigation into the claims and that law enforcement had been notified of the allegations.

The archbishop, who is the metropolitan for the province of Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota, said the claims were reported to him as prescribed by "Vos Estis Lux Mundi" ("You are the light of the world").

The "motu proprio" (on his own initiative) was promulgated by Pope Francis in May 2019 to set new worldwide norms for reporting sexual abuse and to hold bishops accountable for abuse and/or its cover-up.

In November 2019. Archbishop Hebda submitted a report to the Vatican Congregation of Bishops and in February 2020, the congregation authorized the archbishop to further investigate the claims.

Bishop Hoeppner was reportedly the first sitting U.S. bishop to be investigated under the new norms.

The Crookston Diocese said in a statement that after this "an extensive investigation," Pope Francis "asked for and has now accepted" Bishop Hoeppner's resignation.

"The investigation which led to the acceptance of Bishop Hoeppner's resignation arose from reports that he had at times failed to observe applicable norms when presented with allegations of sexual abuse involving clergy of the Diocese of Crookston," the diocese said.

We don’t have comments turned on everywhere anymore. We have recently relaunched the commenting experience at America and are aiming for a more focused commenting experience with better moderation by opening comments on a select number of articles each day.

But we still want your feedback. You can join the conversation about this article with us in social media on Twitter or Facebook, or in one of our Facebook discussion groups for various topics.

Or send us feedback on this article with one of the options below:

We welcome and read all letters to the editor but, due to the volume received, cannot guarantee a response.

In order to be considered for publication, letters should be brief (around 200 words or less) and include the author’s name and geographic location. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.

We open comments only on select articles so that we can provide a focused and well-moderated discussion on interesting topics. If you think this article provides the opportunity for such a discussion, please let us know what you'd like to talk about, or what interesting question you think readers might want to respond to.

If we decide to open comments on this article, we will email you to let you know.

If you have a message for the author, we will do our best to pass it along. Note that if the article is from a wire service such as Catholic News Service, Religion News Service, or the Associated Press, we will not have direct contact information for the author. We cannot guarantee a response from any author.

We welcome any information that will help us improve the factual accuracy of this piece. Thank you.

Please consult our Contact Us page for other options to reach us.

City and state/province, or if outside Canada or the U.S., city and country. 
When you click submit, this article page will reload. You should see a message at the top of the reloaded page confirming that your feedback has been received.

The latest from america

Pope Francis appealed for “respect” for the United Nations peacekeeping forces in Lebanon that have been hit by Israeli forces this past week,
Gerard O’ConnellOctober 13, 2024
Hendersonville residents pull in for supplies outside Immaculata school. Photo by Kevin Clarke.
Chief Correspondent Kevin Clarke joined a team from Catholic Charities USA assessing needs in North Carolina after Hurricane Helene.
Kevin ClarkeOctober 11, 2024
The Jesuit’s pilgrimage involves confronting one’s limits, only to discover that God never abandons us even in our sheer exhaustion, despondency and despair. The same is true of the synod process.
Ricardo da Silva, S.J.October 11, 2024
The church's teaching on servile work as it developed over the centuries is another indicator of how the church constantly sought ways not only to extend its evangelization but to challenge itself to recognize fully the others for whom Christ died.
James F. Keenan, S.J.October 11, 2024