MINNESOTA
The New Prague Times
Submitted by editor on Thu, 11/07/2013
By Chuck Kajer The New Prague Times
Father David Barrett, associate pastor at the Church of St. Wenceslaus in New Prague, has taken a voluntary leave of absence, the Archdiocese of St. Paul & Minneapolis a n n o u n c e d Sunday. A statement by the Archdiocese said the decision is a result of “prior misconduct which occurred many years ago and did not involve members of any parish in which Barrett has served. The misconduct did not involve a violation of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.”
The Archdiocese has been aware of the misconduct and Barrett has been through counseling and has been under supervision since that incident. Due to recent cases involving priest misconduct in the news, past cases are being reviewed by a special Ministry Standards board.
Barrett has served St. Wenceslaus since 2009, and has primarily served the western portion of the parish, at St. John the Evangelist in Union Hill and St. Scholastica in Heidelberg. Prior to that he was associate pastor at Most Holy Redeemer in Montgomery and also served at St. Canice in Kilkenny.
The statement said that while on his leave, Barrett “Will not be performing any public ministry and will cooperate with the Ministerial Standards Board of the Archdiocese which will make recommendations as a result of a review of Barrett’s actions.”
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