Retired St. Cloud Bishop John Kinney dies
Longtime Catholic Bishop John F. Kinney, who led the Diocese of St. Cloud from 1995 until his retirement in 2013, has died at age 82.
In a statement, Bishop Donald Kettler, who succeeded Kinney in 2013, called him a "kind and gracious pastoral leader" and a "strong defender of the dignity of every human being."
Born in Iowa, Kinney was ordained to the priesthood in 1963 in St. Paul and was ordained a bishop in 1977. He served in several positions in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, including nine years as chancellor. He was also bishop of Bismarck, North Dakota.
In 1993, the then-National Conference of Catholic Bishops appointed him chair of an ad hoc committee on sexual abuse. The committee published a document called "Restoring Trust" used by dioceses to address sexual abuse in the church.
Kinney held listening sessions in parishes around the St. Cloud diocese to hear from survivors and concerned church members. However, some survivors accused him of not doing enough to protect them from abusive clergy.
Kinney helped establish a mission in Kenya and a partnership with a diocese in Venezuela, and traveled to several countries to build connections with the St. Cloud diocese, including Indonesia and South Sudan.
He died in a hospice in St. Augusta. Funeral arrangements are pending.
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