Archbishop Controversy Shows Blind Spots Remain in Catholic Hierarchy (julie Mack Column)

By Julie Mack
MLive
January 23, 2016

http://www.mlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2016/01/archbishop_controversy_shows_b.html

Archbishop John Nienstedt, leader of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, rides in a vehicle in St. Paul, Minn., on his way to giving a deposition April 2, 2014. Attorneys for victims of alleged sexual abuse by priests are releasing the deposition of Nienstedt. It was the first time since he became archbishop six years ago that he has had to answer these questions under oath. The deposition was taken as part of a lawsuit filed by a man who claims a priest abused him in the 1970s. (AP File Photo/Jennifer Simonson)

What were they thinking?

Did the officials in Catholic Diocese of Kalamazoo really see it as no big deal to bring in John Nienstedt, the former St. Paul and Minneapolis archbishop, as a visiting priest at St. Philip parish in Battle Creek?

They truly didn't anticipate this would blow up into a big controversy, one likely to end badly?

Nobody considered whether this would underscore -- once again -- the inexplicable obtuseness of Church officials in regards to issues around clergy sex abuse?

To those who haven't been following the story, here's the basic outline.

Nienstedt resigned as Twin Cities archbishop in June. That resignation came in the wake of criminal charges filed against the archdiocese for "failure to protect children" in ignoring numerous red flags involving a former priest currently in prison for abusing two boys.

In fact, the archdiocese's track record on protecting predatory priests was so bad it filed for bankruptcy last year, citing liabilities from lawsuits.

There also are accusations Nienstedt himself made inappropriate advances toward other priests years ago. Findings of an internal investigation have never been released, but Minnesota Public Radio has said it included affidavits that had Nienstedt's advisors urging him to resign in 2014.

But it was the criminal indictment of the diocese that finally brought Nienstedt down, and his resignation letter cited a church policy in which a bishop leaves for a "grave" reason making him unfit for office.

So fast forward to this month, when Nienstedt was introduced as a visiting priest at St. Phillip to help out Pastor John Fleckenstein, who is battling health problems. No mention was made of the controversies in Minnesota, but people quickly found out.

The you-know-what hit the fan.

Neinstedt is now out at St. Philip, but not before several days of public-relations fumbling by the Kalamazoo diocese, which seemed caught off guard by the outrage.

The diocese's initial statement to the media called Nienstedt a "priest in good standing" and said his presence in the parish did not undermine the diocese's commitment to creating a "safe environment."

It was a response that totally missed the point. I doubt anybody sincerely feared Nienstedt might accost young people in the parish.

Rather, Nienstedt's appointment strikes at the core frustration and fury among Catholics about the long-running sex-abuse saga: The tendency among the clergy to circle the wagons around colleagues regardless of their complicity in scandals and cover-ups that have done tremendous damage to Catholics' trust in the Church.

It's not like Nienstadt came to Michigan this month as a humbled priest, acknowledging his shortcomings as a leader while offering his services in a much more limited capacity.

Instead, Nienstedt told St. Philip parishioners the media was spreading "misinformation" and "false allegations."

In a letter to St. Philip members, he said he has not been sued, nor have any legal charges been made against him, and that he resigned as archbishop "in order for that local church to have a new beginning, not because I had done anything wrong."

Unmentioned were the criminal charges and lawsuits levied against the archdiocese, stemming from events and decisions in which the former archbishop seems intimately involved. Click here to read the criminal complaint yourself.

It's that kind of arrogance and denial -- "I didn't do anything wrong" -- that Catholics have found so deeply, profoundly infuriating in regard to the hierarchy on this issue.

This is not about legalistic hair-splitting.

It's about the basic issue of protecting children vs. making excuses for problem priests and allowing them to stay on the job. It's about doing the right thing, even amid a severe priest shortage. And it's about taking responsibility when mistakes are made.

More than a decade after the Catholic sex-abuse scandals first broke open in Boston -- check out the movie "Spotlight" -- Neinstedt seems to embody a hierarchy that can still seem hopelessly clueless.

To the credit of Kalamazoo Bishop Paul Bradley, he offered an unabashed mea culpa Thursday.

"Archbishop Nienstedt's presence has unintentionally brought about a sense of disunity, fear, and hurt to many of you," Bradley wrote in a statement. "I regret that more than words can express."

It's certainly a teachable moment, suggests Ann Phillip Browning, a Kalamazoo Catholic and an advocate for clergy abuse victims.

"What have we learned from this experience?" she wrote in an email to MLive. "How will this experience change how we think about things in the future? Let's not let this experience be wasted."

Julie Mack is a reporter for MLive.com. Email her at jmack1@mlive.com, call her at 269-350-0277 or follow her on Twitter @kzjuliemack.

jmack1@mlive.com