ST. PAUL — The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis publicly admitted wrongdoing Wednesday for the way it handled sexual abuse allegations against a former priest, while prosecutors dropped criminal charges that alleged the archdiocese turned a blind eye to his repeated misconduct.

The admission was part of an agreement in a lawsuit that calls for Archbishop Bernard Hebda to personally participate in at least three and likely more restorative justice sessions with abuse victims. The archbishop took the unusual step of attending the Wednesday hearing where the agreement was announced.

Ramsey County prosecutors filed civil and criminal charges against the archdiocese last year. The six gross misdemeanor child endangerment charges against the archdiocese involved Curtis Wehmeyer, who is serving prison time for molesting two boys in Minnesota and a third in Wisconsin. He was ultimately removed from the priesthood.

Also Wednesday, a prominent attorney for abuse victims, Jeffrey Anderson, accused the Vatican of interfering in a law firm’s investigation into alleged misconduct by Hebda’s predecessor, Archbishop John Nienstedt.

The civil case was settled in December under a plan that allowed for more oversight of the church. But attorneys for both sides used Wednesday’s hearing on progress in the civil case to announce new steps aimed at reinforcing that agreement.