St. Cloud MN Diocese to declare bankruptcy after sex abuse claims, 4th diocese in MN to do so

The Catholic Diocese of St. Cloud will become the fourth Minnesota Catholic institution to declare bankruptcy following a flood of clergy sex abuse claims.

Its announcement reinforced Minnesota’s position as the state with the largest number of bankruptcies related to clergy sex abuse. It follows dioceses in New Ulm and Duluth, as well as the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, which filed for Chapter 11 in 2015.

The St. Cloud diocese is facing 74 claims of clergy sex abuse. Thirty-one clergy serving 30 parishes are accused of abusing children over the decades.

“This approach is the best way to ensure that available resources will be distributed equitably to all the victims and survivors, while allowing the diocese to continue its vital ministries that benefit the people of our 16 counties,” Bishop Donald J. Kettler said in a statement released by the diocese.

continue at STrib 

St Cloud MN priest arrested for sexual misconduct

A St. Cloud priest was arrested this week on suspicion of sexual misconduct. Just how unusual is that? Pretty unusual, but becoming more common, a local expert says.

The Rev. Anthony Oelrich was arrested Tuesday and faces charges of sexual misconduct for having a sexual relationship with a woman he was counseling spiritually.

Has it happened here before?

Oelrich's case is the first time a specific statute regarding clergy abuse in a counseling relationship has been used in Stearns County since 2005, said Janelle Kendall, county attorney. That's as far back as her database goes.

In the books, it's referred to as criminal sexual conduct in the third degree. The same statute has another section pertaining to psychotherapists forbidding sexual relationships with clients they are counseling.

continue at SC Times 

Bishop of St. Cloud responds to mall terrorist attack

Like everyone else, I was shocked and saddened when I heard the news. My prayers this week have been for the victims of this violence and their families. I’m very thankful for the brave work of the first responders who risked their own lives to save others.

At the same time, I have been praying for peace and healing in our community in the aftermath of this attack. I am especially concerned that our Somali-Muslim brothers and sisters face harassment because of the actions committed by an individual from their community — actions that Somali leaders have publicly condemned as against their faith. We need to stand with them at this time. This is why I have been reflecting on the Golden Rule and Jesus’ teachings about mercy, loving our neighbor and everyone’s sacred human dignity as children of God.

As a priest and bishop, an important part of my ministry is to bring unity between people and God as well as strive to unite people in the community. Since arriving in the diocese three years ago, I have worked to foster peace and unity among our faith communities. A year and a half ago, a number of religious leaders in the St. Cloud area — Christian, Muslim and others — began meeting regularly to explore ways we could learn from one another and support each other. In addition to regular meetings, our Greater St. Cloud Area Faith Leaders group has organized an annual picnic where we continue to build relationships through conversation and sharing a meal. I have visited at other times as well with our local Somali-Muslim leaders.

continue at St Cloud Visitor

Priest distributes communion to same-sex advocates in defiance of Nienstedt

Michael Hemmesch, spokesman for St. John's, said school officials had no comment. He said Nienstedt was invited by school officials to lead a regular Sunday night Mass and that it was the first time he did so on the rural campus about 75 miles northwest of Minneapolis.

The Rev. Rene McGraw, a professor of philosophy at St. John's, said he held a short Mass for the small group later the same night in which he served all of them Communion. He took issue with the archdiocese's interpretation of canon law when it comes to who can receive Communion.

"My understanding of church law is that one is not to deny communion to anyone unless he or she is a public sinner, and that has traditionally been interpreted very narrowly," McGraw said. "My instinct was these are people who were in need, I'm supportive of them, therefore I'm happy to say Mass for them."

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I don't believe that Archbishop has any authority at all over priests outside of his own archdiocese. His role as "provincial" for the ten dioceses of the Province (Minnesota and the Dakotas) is purely administrative and symbolic as when he lead the delegation when it is called to meet the Pope for their ad limina reports.


Neither does he have authority over religious order priests working within the archdiocese, except for those perhaps serving as parish priests.


Fr. McGraw is responsible only to his own abbot.

StellaBorealis 

Archbishop Nienstedt refuses communion to homosexual activists at St. John's U Mass

Saint John's Abbey Church, Collegeville, Minnesota

Archbishop John C. Nienstedt of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, leading a student mass at St. John's Abbey recently, [in the Diocese of St. Cloud], refused to give communion to members of a gay and lesbian college student group who were wearing rainbow buttons in a sign of solidarity.
The conflict between the archbishop and students from the Roman Catholic St. John's University and the College of St. Benedict occurred during Sunday night mass in Collegeville, Minn., on Sept. 26.

The action came as Catholics throughout Minnesota have been sent hundreds of thousands of DVDs from the state's bishops in support of a ban on gay marriage.

During the mass, members of PRiSM (People Representing the Sexual Minority) positioned themselves to be in the line for receiving communion from Nienstedt. Some of them reached out for the communion wafer but were denied it.

"We did this because we needed to address the DVDs and make a statement, and we wanted to do that by participating in the mass," St. Benedict senior Ana Seivert, a PRiSM member, told the Record student newspaper. "We were just coming off our Coming Out Week, where we felt so supported by our community. Nienstedt came in and denied us of our community."

One student at the mass, senior Andrew Grausam, said he was sitting behind the PRiSM members and saw some of them give a "fist in the air similar to the black power sign" before they sat up from their pew and "basically jogged to the other side to get communion" from the archbishop.

"It was sad to see the mass politicized like that," Grausam said. "And even though I whole-heartedly disagree with the archbishop on this issue, I was hurt to see my worship become a place of demonstration." [Better get used to it.]

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), which describes itself as the nation's largest civil rights organization on behalf of gays, lesbians and bisexual and transgender people, expressed outrage at Nienstedt's refusal to serve communion.[... What a ridiculous inclusion by the Star Tribune]

"Jesus didn't play politics with communion," Harry Knox, the HRC's religion and faith program director, said Tuesday in a statement from his office in Washington, D.C. "He offered his body and blood for everyone."  [What does Harry Knox have to do with the Roman Catholic liturgy?]

The archdiocese long has for years denied communion to members of the Rainbow Sash Movement, who wear the colors to mass in protest of the church's stance in opposition to homosexuality. [I think you mean the Churches belief in Natural Law]

"We don't permit that at the communion rail," Archdiocese spokesman Dennis McGrath said Monday. "We have told them for years you cannot receive communion if you wear the rainbow sash, because it's a political statement, a sign of protest. Going to the communion rail is the most sacred part of our faith, the Eucharist. We don't allow anybody to make political statements or any kind of protest." Star Tribune

Stella Borealis 

HT Greg