Pope names replacement for Minnesota bishop who resigned after Vatican investigation (USCCB)

Pope Francis has appointed Auxiliary Bishop Andrew Cozzens of Saint Paul and Minneapolis as the new Bishop of Crookston. In April, Bishop Michael Hoeppner of Crookston resigned, at the request of Pope Francis, after a Vatican investigation into charges that he had covered up sex-abuse complaints. Bishop Hoeppner was the first US prelate to resign as the result of a Vos estis investigation.

“I’ve seen how difficult it can be to change the culture of the Church so that we deal with [the] sexual abuse crisis correctly,” Bishop Cozzens told Minnesota Public Radio. “Victims are in fact the people we should be most caring for in the crisis.”