Forgive and Forget
Instead of reporting child sexual abuse allegations to police, the Old Apostolic Lutheran Church encouraged victims to forgive their abusers and forget the abuse.
Featured Posts in this Series
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In This Church, Child Sexual Abuse Has Gone Unchecked for So Long That It Spans Generations
The Old Apostolic Lutheran Church’s culture of forgiving and forgetting sins has absolved abusers and silenced victims across the U.S. and Canada, ensnaring parents, children and grandchildren in the same cycle of abuse.
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Young Girls Were Sexually Abused by a Church Member. They Were Told to Forgive and Forget.
In Minnesota, leaders of an Old Apostolic Lutheran Church community enabled a child abuser by telling his victims that once the sins were “washed away in the blood of reconciliation,” they could never speak of them again.
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What a Recorded Interview Between Police and Preachers Reveals About How a Minnesota Church Handled Sexual Abuse
A roughly 40-minute conversation shows how leaders of an Old Apostolic Lutheran Church kept an open secret quiet for so long.
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5 Takeaways From Our Investigation Into How Leaders of a Minnesota Church Community Enabled a Child Abuser
ProPublica and the Minnesota Star Tribune found that victims of abuse within an Old Apostolic Lutheran Church community in Duluth were told to forgive and forget. Here’s what to know from our reporting.
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Lawmaker Calls for Stronger Mandatory Reporting Rules Following Our Investigation Into Church Abuse Case
Mandatory reporters in Minnesota can be charged with a misdemeanor if they do not report child abuse to authorities. But violators of the statute are rarely convicted, and fines are often similar to traffic tickets.
Series Timeline
Dec. 23, 2025
A Minnesota lawmaker said she would study ways to improve and enforce mandated reporter laws. She introduced legislation to do that.
Dec. 5, 2025
Reporter Jessica Lussenhop wrote about the recording of a police interview that informed much of our reporting.
Nov. 23, 2025
We published key takeaways from our investigation.
Nov. 20, 2025
Working with the Minnesota Star Tribune, we revealed how the Old Apostolic Lutheran Church in Duluth had protected a church member who’d repeatedly sexually abused children.
6 stories published since 2025
