The former bishop of the Diocese of Crookston, Minnesota, Bishop Michael Hoeppner, will not return to do any ministry in the diocese and will have his retirement compensation cut, the diocese’s new shepherd announced on March 7.
Hoeppner resigned on April 13, 2021 at the request of Pope Francis following a 20-month-long investigation into claims that he mishandled allegations of clergy sex abuse. He was 71 at the time – four years shy of the normal retirement age for bishops.
“When he was departing the Diocese of Crookston last April, Bishop Hoeppner publicly stated that he hoped to return to the diocese at the invitation of the new bishop,” Bishop Andrew Cozzens of Crookston said in a March 7 letter to clergy and lay faithful. “I have spoken with him, and he has agreed not to return to do any ministry in the Diocese of Crookston.”
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