Julie Craven, associate director of St. Thomas Law’s Initiative on Restorative Justice and Healing, has been named as ombudsperson for victim-survivors of clerical sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. She succeeds Twin Cities attorney Victoria Newcome Johnson, who had served as ombudsperson since May 2020.
The ombudsperson position was created in 2015 as part of the settlement agreement between the archdiocese and the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office. The settlement stemmed from civil charges the county filed alleging the archdiocese had failed to protect children in a clergy sex abuse case.
Since the settlement, the archdiocese has continued to support the role of an ombudsperson, who acts as an independent, outside resource for people with questions or concerns about clerical sexual abuse in the archdiocese.
Craven said she is “honored to be asked to serve in this role,” and it will complement the work she is doing with the restorative justice initiative at the university and at the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis.
Read more in this article from The Catholic Spirit.
More information about the archdiocese’s safe environment efforts can be found at safe-environment.archspm.org. Craven can be reached at ombudsarchspm@gmail.com or by leaving a text or voicemail at (320) 416-0708.
