| Bishop Paul V. Dudley Summary of Case: A parish priest of the archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis for 25 years, Dudley was made an Auxilliary bishop of the archdiocese in 1977, then elevated to bishop of the Sioux Falls diocese in 1978. He retired in 1995 to his hometown of Northfield, MN. In 1999 a woman accused Dudley of having molested her in the 1970s. It was after he was accused in 2002 of having fondled an altar boy in the 1950s that Dudley resigned from ministry, vowing to return when he was exonerated. He strongly denied all allegations. A second woman came forward in 2002 alleging innapropriate behavior toward her by Dudley in the 1960s. An investigator hired by the archdiocese could not substantiate the accusations. Dudley died in November 2006. Ordained: 1951 Episcopal Ordination: Jan. 25, 1977 Retired: 1995 Died: November 20, 2006 |
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| Start | Stop | Parish/Assignment | Town/Accusations | State | Position | Notes |
1951 St. Paul archbishop was John Gregory Murray (1931-1956), followed by William Otterwell Brady (1956-1961). Leo Binz succeeded Brady (1961-1975) |
1964 | Annunciation | Minneapolis • Dudley was accused in Feb. 2002 of having fondled an 11 or 12 year-old boy in the 1950s at Annunciation. His accuser said he was a student at Annunciation school and that the fondling took place in the rectory and a boiler room, among other places in the school. Dudley strongly denied the accusations. |
MN | 3/3, 2/3 | Annunciation had a school with 566-1,100 students. |
| 1964 | 1967 | St. Patrick's | St. Paul • In 2002 a woman came forward to allege that Dudley behaved "inappropriately" toward her in a public place in the 1960s. |
MN | 2/2 | St. Patrick's had a school with 646-585 students. |
| 1967 | 1972 | St. Edward's | Bloomington | MN | 1/1, 1/2 | |
1972 John Robert Roach replaced Binz (1975-1995)
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1977 | Our Lady of the Lake | Mound • Dudley was accused by a woman in 1999 of having sexually abused her in the 1970s at Our Lady of the Lake. An archdiocesan representative stated in 2002 that they tried to contact the woman, but were unsuccessful. |
MN | 1/2, 1/3 Dudley was appointed St. Paul and Minneapolis Auxilliary Bishop Nov. 16, 1976. His Episcopal ordination was Jan. 25, 1977. |
Our Lady of the Lake had a school with 173-190 students.
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| 1977 | 1978 | St. James' | St. Paul | MN | pastor | |
1978 Paul V. Dudley was Sioux Falls bishop (1978-1995)
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1995 | Diocese of Sioux Falls | Sioux Falls | SD | Bishop | |
1995 St. Paul and Minneapolis bishop was Harry Joseph Flynn (1995-2008) |
1997 | Retired/St. Dominic | Northfield | SD | pastor | During retirement Dudley returned to his family's farm in Minnesota. |
| 1997 | 2006 | Retired | Northfield | MN | Dudley resigned from ministry in May 2002 after being publicly accused of having fondled a boy in the 1950s. In 2003 an investigator hired by the St. Paul and Minneapolis archdiocese concluded that the three claims against Dudley were unfounded. Dudley died Nov. 20, 2006 |
Sources: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1952-2007) • Retired Bishop Accused of Abuse, By Kavita Kumar, Star Tribune [Minneapolis MN], May 8, 2002 |