Archdiocese officials meet with St. Paul police

One day after St. Paul Police Chief Tom Smith said the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis has not cooperated with a criminal investigation into claims of child sex abuse among parish priests, police met with archdiocese officials.

Howie Padilla, the public information officer for the St. Paul Police Department reported on his Twitter feed that St. Paul Police met privately with the Rev. Charles Lachowitzer, a vicar general and top deputy to Archbishop John Nienstedt. Police also met with an attorney for the archdiocese.

Full coverage: Archdiocese under scrutiny

According to Padilla, the two men answered some questions and planned to meet again with police. No other details were provided.

"We had a productive and amicable meeting today and concur with the St. Paul Police's account of our meeting," Jim Accurso, spokesman for the archdiocese, said in a statement Wednesday evening.

The meeting comes one day after St. Paul police also opened an investigation into an allegation that Nienstedt touched a boy on the buttocks during a confirmation in 2009. Church officials first learned about the complaint about a week ago.

Nienstedt has said the accusation is entirely false but he will temporarily step away from public ministry during the investigation.

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