MINNESOTA
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis
Date:Thursday, November 14, 2013
Source:Jim Accurso
As part of the plan to ensure a comprehensive approach to address the issue of clergy sexual misconduct, the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis today announced it has retained Kinsale Management Consulting in fulfillment of Archbishop John Nienstedt’s stated intention to hire an outside firm to conduct a third-party review of clergy files.
After evaluating the credentials of a number of nationally-recognized firms with established and appropriate expertise, Kinsale was hired. ”We are confident in the credentials and relevant expertise of Kinsale Management Consulting to conduct a thorough review of our clergy files,” said Fr. Reginald Whitt, O.P., the Vicar of Ministerial Standards. “Our number one goal was to find someone with extensive experience and expertise nationally in this area, and Kinsale certainly has those qualities.”
Kinsale was founded by Kathleen McChesney, Ph.D., the former number three official at the Federal Bureau of Investigation and head of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Office for Child and Youth Protection, where she developed and oversaw a national compliance mechanism to ensure that all Catholic dioceses complied with civil laws and internal policies relative to the prevention, reporting and response to the sexual abuse of minors. Kinsale’s review will add another level of accountability and – most importantly – will further serve the Archdiocese’s primary goal of protecting minors. Kinsale’s file review process is slated to begin in early December and will start with a review of all clergy in active ministry. Once the Kinsale team is on board and can do an initial assessment, they will be able to provide an estimate of the timeframe required to complete their work.
“Dr. McChesney and her team bring an extraordinary depth of experience, background in law enforcement and the investigation of crimes against children, and dedication to their work in both religious and secular organizations. Their expertise and leadership in addressing the problem of abuse of minors will ensure that Kinsale’s review of our clergy files will be objective and thorough,” said Archbishop John Nienstedt. “With the benefit of this level of review, we will proceed confidently with ongoing disclosure.” Dr. McChesney has thirty years of law enforcement experience and innate talent for inspiring collaboration and change. She created the FBI’s Office of Law Enforcement
Coordination to establish more productive relationships between the FBI and the nation’s 18,000 police agencies, and the National Intel Share project to promote information sharing among the nation’s 680,000 law enforcement officers. She managed the FBI’s international operations in 44 foreign countries and spearheaded the FBI’s efforts to add 11 additional offices through interactions with the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Congress.
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