Archbishop Flynn, Who Led St. Paul Archdiocese, Dies At 86

ST. PAUL (AP) — Archbishop Harry Flynn, who led the archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis from 1995 to 2008, has died. He was 86.

The archdiocese says Flynn died Sunday night.

Flynn championed social justice, taking stands against racism and the persecution of immigrants. He chaired a commission of U.S. bishops on the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church. But some advocates for survivors of clergy abuse later criticized him for not doing enough to root out abusive priests.

Flynn was born in Schenectady, New York, and served as a priest in the Albany, New York, diocese. He became bishop of the Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana before the Vatican moved him to St. Paul.

His funeral Mass is set for 11 a.m. next Monday, Sept. 30, at the Cathedral of Saint Paul.