Archbishop Nienstedt Responds

By Jennifer Haselberger
Canonical Consultation
January 17, 2016

http://canonicalconsultation.com/blog.html

The Battle Creek Enquirer is reporting that Archbishop Nienstedt spoke with parishioners of St Philip parish in Battle Creek this weekend about the concerns over his appointment.

According to the January 17, 2016, article, Nienstedt blamed the furor over his appointment on critics who dislike his stance on same-sex marriage. In addition, he said that his resignation was not the result of anything that he had done wrong. The Enquirer reports that Nienstedt stated, "I resigned as archbishop in order for the local church to have a new beginning as they come out of bankruptcy and not because of something I had done wrong."

Unfortunately, this is probably true. Archbishop Nienstedt would be the only person who would truly know what motivated his resignation. However, the reason that it was accepted by Pope Francis could be entirely different, which again demonstrates the point of why these resignations, as opposed to punitive actions, are insufficient.