STrib: Nienstedt probe shows need for bishop reforms, Minnesota Catholics say

Pope Francis will convene a historic clergy sex abuse summit this month, and many Minnesota Catholics are watching to see if it tackles an issue close to home — what to do about reported misconduct by bishops.

It's an issue felt keenly in the Twin Cities, where the halted 2014 investigation into former Archbishop John Nienstedt is considered by many Catholics as a case study of all that can go wrong when the church has no clear, independent policies for investigating its top leaders.

Archbishop Bernard Hebda of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis is among U.S. bishops now urging the creation of a national commission, with lay members, to tackle reports of bishop wrongdoing. It could build far more public trust than what transpired in St. Paul, which hasn't been fully resolved even after four years, many Catholics say.

"I hope that what we went through in the Twin Cities shows the compelling need for reform," said Hank Shea, law professor at the University of St. Thomas and a former assistant U.S. attorney. "Those lessons should be heeded by every American archbishop and bishop to avoid their repetition elsewhere."

There are 37 U.S. bishops — living and deceased — implicated in sexual misconduct cases, either as perpetrators or as supervisors who tolerated abuse, according to Bishop Accountability, a Massachusetts-based group that tracks clergy abuse. The former U.S. Cardinal Theodore McCarrick is the most recent case.

continue at Star Tribune

"I think there's a simple solution," Keenan said. "When there's a sex abuse case, canon law doesn't apply. Civil law applies. Bishops need to adhere to our legal system."

Okay, canon law doesn't apply?  This is obviously incoherent and not meant as a serious solution, but a frustrated way of saying that civil law should be applied regardless of canonical resolutions.  Canon law does apply.  How else can the Church administer anything?  The canonical punishments must be applied as severely as is allowable on the guilty.  Any deficiencies in the 1983 revisions must also be corrected if they exist (excommunication application being foremost).  Proper application of Canon Law could have prevented more abuse from occurring.  The problem is the failure in applying proper canonical punishment when it is required. 

Second, the authority by which the bishop administers the law comes from Jesus Christ which has been delegated by his Vicar on earth.  Where does US civil law draw its authority?  It is just making it up as it goes along.  Think of the absurd SCOTUS decisions which require injustice be applied.  

I'm all for punishment of the guilty and appropriate reforms necessary to bring about justice, but the "simple solution" here is shortsighted.  

Archbishop Nienstedt denies sexual misconduct allegations in third SNAP lawsuit against Vatican

Archbishop Emeritus John Nienstedt defended himself Oct. 24 from renewed allegations that he has engaged in sexual misconduct and that his judgment in the case of a former priest who sexually abused three boys was influenced by an “unusual social relationship” with him.

The allegations are part of a lawsuit filed against the Vatican Oct. 24 by Jeff Anderson, a St. Paul attorney. Its two plaintiffs include Jim Keenan, a sexual abuse survivor from the Twin Cities. Filed in U.S. District Court-Northern District of California, Anderson’s lawsuit is the third he’s filed against the Vatican. Courts have dismissed both of the two previous suits.

The lawsuit seeks the release of Vatican-held documents in its archives pertaining to clergy sex abuse.

The lawsuit cites the internal investigation commissioned in 2014 by the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis into allegations that Archbishop Nienstedt engaged in sexual misconduct with adults prior to being named Archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis. That investigation produced affidavits alleging that Archbishop Nienstedt had sexually harassed and propositioned adult males and frequented gay establishments in Canada and Detroit.

“I categorically deny all of those allegations, and I have never used my position to take advantage of anybody,” Archbishop Nienstedt said in his statement.

continue at The Catholic Spirit

Bp. Cozzens Says Nienstedt Investigation Was 'Doomed to Fail'

Auxiliary Bishop Andrew Cozzens of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis released Friday his account of a now-controversial 2014 investigation into allegations against Archbishop John Nienstedt.

“In retrospect, it was doomed to fail. We did not have enough objectivity or experience with such investigations. Nor did we have authority to act. Throughout our efforts, we did not know where we could turn for assistance, because there was no meaningful structure to address allegations against bishops,” he wrote of the investigation.

Bishop Cozzens was part of a team charged with reviewing Archbishop Nienstedt’s handling of clerical sexual abuse allegations in the archdiocese, and investigating allegations of sexual misconduct toward seminarians on the archbishop’s part.

continue at NCReg

Abp. Viganò issues new statement, documents to clear his name in Abp Nienstedt investigation

Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, whose extraordinary testimony implicating Pope Francis and several senior prelates in covering up Archbishop Theodore McCarrick’s alleged sexual abuse of seminarians and priests, today has issued a written statement, rejecting as “false” accusations that are now being used to discredit him.

Archbishop Viganò has also released supporting documents to prove his innocence.

The accusations date back to a 2016 New York Times report, alleging that, as U.S. Nuncio, Viganò “quashed” an independent investigation into sexual misconduct on the part of Archbishop John Nienstedt, who was found innocent by police authorities.

The report specifically alleges that, during an April 2014 meeting at the Nunciature in Washington D.C., Viganò ordered two auxiliary bishops of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis to halt the investigation into Nienstedt. The report further alleges that Viganò “ordered church officials to destroy a letter they wrote to him protesting the decision.”

continue at LifeSite

Also: Archbishop Viganò responds to criticisms of handling of 2014 Nienstedt investigation

Nienstedt says he's 'relieved' that fate of investigation is now public, “I am a heterosexual man who has been celibate my entire life”

Former Twin Cities Archbishop John Nienstedt said Thursday he is “relieved” that the public now is aware of the fate of an investigation into alleged sexual improprieties by him.

A day after a 2014 memo from the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis was made public stating that a Vatican emissary quashed the investigation, Nienstedt repeated that he has done nothing improper, despite allegations of misconduct revealed in documents released Wednesday by the Ramsey County attorney’s office.

“I am a heterosexual man who has been celibate my entire life,” Nienstedt wrote in an e-mail to the Star Tribune Thursday. “I am relieved that the public now knows the extent of the allegations and can hear my response.”

The fate of the Nienstedt investigation has been a question confronting Twin Cities Catholics for two years. The memo made public this week indicated that the Vatican emissary in Washington, D.C., put the brakes on the probe, which had been looking into allegations of sexual misconduct by Nienstedt in Michigan, Minnesota and Rome.

continue at STrib

The allegations of gay club hopping were stupid lies.  Abp. Nienstedt clearly made mistakes here, and his judgement in these matters should have been the focus of the investigation and press coverage.  To libel the man out of some vendetta was transparent and took the focus off the real issue the Church is struggling to resolve.

STrib: "Vatican emissary squashed Archbishop Nienstedt investigation;" docs released by Ramsey County on Wednesday

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

Kathy Schiffer takes on embarrassing hack job by Detroit Free Press on Abp. Nienstedt

The Detroit Free Press is running a story this morning about retired Archbishop John Nienstedt which is peppered with misunderstandings and factual inaccuracies. The article by Jennifer Bowman apparently originated with the Battle Creek Enquirer; but I would insist that the Free Press, whose reporters saw firsthand Archbishop Nienstedt’s kindly leadership when he was an auxiliary bishop in Detroit, has a responsibility to vet the articles which appear on its pages.

For starters, the headline reads “Controversial Ex-Priest Now Serving in Battle Creek.”

Please allow me to clarify: Archbishop Nienstedt is not an “ex-priest.” He is a “retired archbishop.” His resignation from office does not erase his standing in the Roman Catholic Church and he is entitled to the respect due an archbishop.

continue at Seasons of Grace

I've said many times, when the press lies about the facts in these cases it does damage to their own agenda.  There's plenty of actual facts here that need to be examined, but this journal-ivism gets published makes Neinstedt look like the victim of a political hack dragging him through the mud.

Just read the last line:

Indeed, Nienstedt has been a vocal opponent of same-sex marriage, supporting in 2012 an unsuccessful ban proposal in Minnesota. He also ordered an end to a gay pride pray service at a Minneapolis church while he was archbishop, according to the Star Tribune.

Now we know that Neinstedt's statement that there is no truth to any charges of mishandling of abuse reports really is just politically motivated.  Nienstedt said this in 2014.

In a written response to Commonweal, Nienstedt dismissed the charges as a “personal attack against me due to my unwavering stance on issues consistent with church teaching, such as opposition to so-called same-sex marriage.”

So as far as the current situation that Abp. Nienstedt find himself in,  the DFP seems to agree, there's no substance to any of the charges, his real crime is opposing the radical agenda of the homosexualist movement.  

StarTribune: In his first remarks since resigning, Nienstedt denies allegations in affidavits

Former Archbishop John Nienstedt said he remains “dumbfounded” by the allegations of personal misconduct that emerged last year during an internal church investigation of his behavior — a report that the archdiocese now is considering making public.

The archdiocese declined to answer questions about the investigation [into Nienstedt's conduct]. Last year, it hired the Greene Espel law firm in Minneapolis to look into allegations of clergy misconduct involving Nienstedt and adults. The law firm’s work ended last summer, and the chancery hired Minneapolis criminal defense attorney Peter Wold to complete the probe.

Greene Espel has publicly disputed claims by the archdiocese that Nienstedt did not intervene in the investigation.

Another affidavit from a Michigan priest said that Nienstedt pulled up to his car in an area frequented by gay men one December in the early 1980s and asked him if he had any “poppers,” an inhalant used by gay men to enhance sexual pleasure. When he got into Nienstedt’s car, and Nienstedt recognized him as a former student, he changed the subject, the priest told the Star Tribune.

Nienstedt denied all the allegations, point by point and in general. He also stressed that none of the people who filed affidavits claimed that he “ever abused any minor, had a sexual relationship with any individual, or committed any crime.”

The former archbishop insisted he never set foot in a gay nightclub or visited gay cruising spots. He said he was not even in Detroit in December 1982, when the Michigan priest claims he asked for the “poppers.” He was assigned to the Vatican Secretariat of State in Rome and was not allowed to come home for the holidays.

full article at Star Tribune

Obviously the claims sound fake.  If they are fake and if Neinstedt is eventually exonerated, the process will have served its purpose; to signal to any prelate that they will be falsely accused if they attempt to take any action against the homosexualist agenda outside or even inside the Church.  If they are true, it will be one of the most bizarre chapters in US Church history and would hopefully signal a new chapter in curia management with more checks and balances.