Archbishop John Nienstedt resigned as head of the St. Paul-Minneapolis Archdiocese on Monday. Nienstedt, who was bishop of the New Ulm Diocese from 2001 to 2007 before being appointed archbishop, and Auxiliary Bishop Lee Anthony Piche resigned after the Ramsey County Attorney’s office filed criminal charges against the archdiocese as an organization for not protecting parishioners from clerical sex abuse.

The resignations may have come as a result of the criminal charges, or because of Pope Francis’ recent appointment of a Vatican tribunal to examine high ranking prelates for how they handle sex abuse accusations. Either way, Nienstedt’s resignation will clear the way for the appointment of an archbishop who will, as Nienstedt never quite did, crack down on clerical abuses and put the welfare of the church members above that of the church itself.

The new archbishop will also have to have a special empathy, a sensitivity, a “man of the people” quality that Nienstedt was never able to muster, neither here in New Ulm nor in St. Paul. There is much healing that needs to be done in the Archdiocese, and indeed around the state. That will involve not just empathy and compassion, but openness and transparency in dealing with this crisis that has been shaking the Catholic Church for the last 20 years.

Many of the allegations being made go back decades and involve clergy who are long retired or dead. Many cases were covered up, which led to more offenses by clergy who were simply moved somewhere else. The church can only heal from these offenses if they are aired out.

We hope whoever assumes the archbishop’s post in St. Paul/Minneapolis will lead to that kind of healing and set an example for other dioceses on how it should be done.