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St. Paul Archdiocese Whistleblower Lauded by Catholic Newspaper

By Emily Gurnon
Pioneer Press
December 30, 2013

http://www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_24817108/st-paul-archdiocese-whistleblower-lauded-by-catholic-magazine

Jennifer Haselberger, the whistleblower who took on the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis about allegations of clergy sexual misconduct, set off a firestorm that cost her her job as canon lawyer for the archdiocese. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

A national independent Catholic newspaper has named Jennifer Haselberger of St. Paul its person of the year for 2013.

The Kansas City, Mo.-based National Catholic Reporter said Monday on its website that Haselberger was one of few who dared to speak out against an archbishop.

"Thank God for the courage of abuse survivors and the families of victims who will not let our bishops and leaders forget the abuse and their complicity in it," the editorial staff wrote. "Thank God for activists who stand with survivors. But most of all, thank God for one very special class of people: the priests and church personnel who do stand up to their leaders and cry out for justice."

Finally, they wrote, "thank God for Jennifer Haselberger."

Besides Haselberger, the editorial names two others who "sacrificed promising ecclesiastical careers because they sided with the victims of abuse and not with those who would cover it up." They are Patrick Wall, a former Benedictine monk who joined the firm of attorney Jeff Anderson in St. Paul this year to work on clergy lawsuits, and the Rev. Thomas Doyle of Vienna, Va., who studies priests' sexual activities and works with abuse victims.

Haselberger, 39, sparked a firestorm of criticism against the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis when she went public with accusations that top officials had covered up possible child sexual abuse and other misconduct by priests.

Haselberger worked as chancellor of canonical affairs for the archdiocese from 2008 until April, when she resigned in protest.

"I was not prepared for this disregard for the requirements of canon law, nor for what appeared to be an equal disregard for civil law, especially in regard to the obligation to report to the civil authorities," she told the National Catholic Reporter.

She had tried to persuade the archdiocesan administration to "take the necessary steps" to address sexual misconduct by priests, she said in an October statement to the media.

Patrick Wall (Courtesy of Jeff Anderson and Associates)

Among the cases disclosed by Haselberger was that of the Rev. Jonathan Shelley, 52, who previously served St. John the Baptist Church in Hugo and St. Jude of the Lake in Mahtomedi. A computer he owned in 2004 was found to have thousands of pornographic images on it. Haselberger believed some of those were child pornography. The case was not referred to police until she brought it to the attention of the Ramsey County attorney's office.

Shelley has not been charged in the case. An initial review of computer data turned over by the archdiocese showed no child pornography, St. Paul police said in September, but a Hugo man who had alerted the archdiocese to the computer in 2004 turned over a copy of its hard drive Oct. 4. Police are reviewing it.

Haselberger also exposed church officials' inaction in the face of troubling behavior by the Rev. Curtis Wehmeyer in the years leading up to his conviction on child molestation and child pornography charges. Wehmeyer is serving a five-year prison term.

She repeatedly took her concerns to Archbishop John Nienstedt, but they were ignored, she said.

The archdiocese has said it is committed to handling clergy misconduct matters "aggressively and consistently."

In November, it hired Los Angeles-based Kinsale Management Consulting to review files of all clergy in active ministry.

On Sunday, the archdiocese said that priests from Catholic churches in Minneapolis and Mendota were taking leaves of absence after Kinsale's review of files disclosed past inappropriate conduct with minors.

The Rev. Joseph Gallatin of the Church of St. Peter in Mendota and the Rev. Mark Wehmann of St. Boniface Catholic Church in Minneapolis had engaged in "boundary violations" with the minors, the statements said. Wehmann was accused in several incidents; as for Gallatin, there was one incident "many years ago," the archdiocese said.

Founded in 1964, the National Catholic Reporter describes itself as "one of the few independent journalistic outlets for Catholics and others who struggle with the complex moral and societal issues of the day."

Contact: egurnon@pioneerpress.com

 

 

 

 

 




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