A Vatican official reportedly shut down an investigation into allegations of sexual improprieties by former Archbishop John Nienstedt.
An internal church memo, part of an often explosive batch of clergy abuse documents released Wednesday by Ramsey County, showed that in 2014, the Vatican’s representative in Washington, D.C., instructed bishops of the St. Paul and Minneapolis Archdiocese to halt an archdiocese-commissioned investigation into Nienstedt.
The bishops objected in a letter that shutting down the investigation “would rightly be seen as a coverup,’’ according to a memo written by priest and lawyer Rev. Dan Griffith, the chancery’s liaison with investigators.
In response, the Vatican’s then-U.S. emissary, Carlo Vigano, asked the bishops to take their letter back “and destroy it,” Griffith wrote.
“Today, Ramsey County Attorney John Choi told the public there is no basis to bring a criminal charge against any of those leaders,” wrote Dixon. “He also dismissed all of the criminal charges against the Archdiocese. That dismissal is unconditional and speaks for itself.”continue at Start Tribune
Not to defend anyone, but neither the Vatican nor the civil authorities found "no basis" for criminal charges. Although SNAP gets first priority in news reports, it could have read "Vatican investigation confirmed by Ransey County Attorney." When the ideological agenda of people like Jennifer Haselberger are revealed, it makes it harder to know who to believe. But we do need people like her who aren't just out to change Catholic theology who are willing to indeed be vigilant of our institutions with a track record of failure.
Thank you @CTACatholics for the beautiful leadership award. pic.twitter.com/2D5RB9LVHA— Jennifer Haselberger (@jmhaselberger) November 9, 2015
Whistle blower Jennifer Haselberger accepts award from dubious Call to Action group
6 comments:
"'no basis' for criminal charges" - How can you possibly say that? Did you read the memo from Fr. Griffith to Bishop Piché? The Apostolic Nuncio of the United States requested that evidence be destroyed! The more the investigation uncovered, the more the rules kept changing. This is absolutely not a conservative/liberal issue. This is a matter of truth. If we as a Church desire to be a credible witness to Christ in the world, then we also have to deal directly with our own internal sins in a honest and straightforward way. That absolutely did not happen in the Twin Cities. Read for yourself: http://stmedia.startribune.com/documents/1archnew072116.pdf
That's what the DA said, not me.
Very well, but you're implying by the rest of your comments that this is all about some sort of liberal coup to take down the Archbishop. Reading the documents, I just don't see that here. The entire process was severely and even sinfully mismanaged by many within the archdiocese and even the Apostolic Nunciature.
I do agree it was mismanaged, embarrassingly so. I don't think this whole thing was a coup or because Abp. Nienstedt fought for the marriage amendment. This should be a call to the conservative wing to stop hiding behind orthodoxy (which is why I said we need people who "are willing to indeed be vigilant of our institutions with a track record of failure.")
With that said, Call to Action's agenda in the matter is political and is certainly interested in inspiring a "liberal coup." And the gay Neidstedt stuff? Please, give me a break. They want to say it was not person failures by Neidstedt and guys like Fr Laird who had no business being in a leadership position despite his connections, but an outdated theology that leads to poor management. How about we just hold people accountable when they make mistakes for said mistakes, and work to get the right people in leadership positions?
This will do nothing the restore the faith of the people in the institutional Church.
Well I guess we need a church free from the vile corruption of the hierarchy, one where are consciences can be liberated from the years of patriarchal oppression. A church finally without sinners.
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