In a shocking revelation, Archbishop Robert Carlson said that he was unsure whether raping children was a crime in 1984. He said the bizarre statement while defending his past handling of sexual abuse cases in the Archdiocese of St Paul and Minneapolis, where he was serving as an auxiliary bishop at the time.
When attorney Jeff Anderson asked Carlson if it was criminal for an adult to engage in sex with a child, Carlson said, “I’m not sure whether I knew it was a crime or not. I understand today it’s a crime.”
What made matters worse is Carlson’s statement from a deposition last week, where he directly contradicts all the paper trail he left behind on the sexual abuse cases from his former years at the twin cities. In a 1984 memo released by Anderson, Carlson is seen discussing the “statute of limitations” in a case involving the sexual abuse of a child, who eventually grew up to be incarcerated for rape.
“I will see the parents on Thursday, July 5, 1984. They have some anger that their son is in prison because they attempted to get help for him after they became aware of the boy's sexual acting out toward women. They believe Tom Adamson, who abused the boy, should bear part of the blame but he is out and free and does not seem to care. The boy apparently still sees Tom Adamson, at least according to the counselor. Because he is now 18 they are not concerned about sexual contact at this point. The statute of limitations does not run out for 2½ years. The mother and father are considering reporting this to the police,” said Carlson in the 1984 memo.
This contradiction between Carlton’s statements proves that he was very much aware that molesting or raping a child is a crime, even in 1984.
The string of sexual abuse cases at the Archdiocese of St Paul and Minneapolis is only one of the many that have emerged recently. After a whistleblower exposed several cover-ups of the archdiocese in speculations suggest the number is much higher.
The Archdiocese of St Louis released a statement on June 11 defending Carlson.
“Recent inaccurate and misleading reporting by certain media outlets has impugned Archbishop Carlson’s good name and reputation… When the Archbishop said ‘I’m not sure whether I knew it was a crime or not,’ he was simply referring to the fact that he did not know the year that clergy became mandatory reporters of suspected child abuse,” read the statement.
Earlier, Carlson had suggested pro-choice politicians give up their faith in Christianity and same-sex marriage is formidable. 2013, the institution released a list of 34 priests who were accused in sexual abuse cases thoug
