[JURIST] A Minnesota judge on Monday approved a settlement [press release] in a landmark sexual abuse case involving Catholic church leaders that neglected to warn parishioners about an abusive priest. The plaintiffs accused the church leaders of creating a public nuisance by failing to warn the parishioners, which is the first time such a theory has been used in a clergy sexual abuse case nationwide. By using this theory the plaintiffs were able to look for evidence of sexual abuse throughout the diocese, as opposed to just one person. Jeff Anderson, attorney for the plaintiffs, stated [AP report], “This is a landmark case. … It’s monumental in a lot of ways.” St. Paul-Minneapolis Archbishop John Nienstedt [official profile] said in a statement [text, PDF], “[This case is] a historic moment in our efforts to assure the safety of children and vulnerable adults.” The settlement was approved by Ramsey County Judge James Van De North.

Clergyman sexual abuse [JURIST news archive] continues to be an ongoing issue for the Roman Catholic Church. In May the Vatican appeared [JURIST report] before the Geneva committee that oversees the UN Convention Against Torture, arguing that a strict interpretation of the convention limited the church’s responsibility for the international priest sex abuse scandal. In January the UN Committee on the Convention on the Rights of the Child criticized the Vatican [JURIST report] on the its handling of child sex abuse. In December 2013 the Pennsylvania Superior Court unanimously reversed [JURIST report] the conviction of a priest for his failure to protect children from a sexual predator and ordered he be released from prison. In January 2013 the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles was ordered to release [JURIST report] its files on child abuse by its employees with full disclosure on all subject matter, totaling nearly 30,000 pages of documents and more than 200 priests named in the allegations.