ROME – A Minnesota bishop who was investigated by the Vatican for allegedly interfering with past investigations into clergy sexual abuse has resigned, the Vatican said Tuesday.
Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Bishop Michael Hoeppner and named a temporary replacement to run the Crookston diocese, the Holy See said in a statement.
Hoeppner is 71, four years shy of the normal retirement age for bishops. The Vatican did not say why Francis accepted the resignation, but the Vatican in 2019 authorized an investigation into claims that Hoeppner had engaged in “acts or omissions intended to interfere with or avoid civil or canonical investigations of clerical sexual misconduct.” The Vatican tasked St.