MINNESOTA
Fox 9
Posted: Jul 15, 2014
ST. PAUL, Minn. (KMSP) –
The most detailed allegations of canon lawyer-turned-whistleblower Jennifer Haselberger are now public. A 107-page affidavit released Tuesday accuses archbishops and senior staff of lying to the public and concealing evidence of alleged sexual abuse by clergy in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.
Haselberger details practices and decisions within the archdiocese that ignore the Catholic church’s “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.”
First experience with concealment
Haselberger wrote that she first experienced the archdiocese’s efforts to conceal potential criminal acts of sexual misconduct in October of 2004. She learned Rev. Daniel Conlin had fathered the child of a married woman who he may have counseled. She was “deeply concerned and distressed” to learn Conlin was then reassigned to a position in which he supervised women.
‘Haphazard’ archiving of priest files
Haselberger said that when she started examining records in 2008, she found the files of “nearly 20” priests who were guilty of sexual misconduct, but still in ministry. She said most priests hadn’t had background checks since the early 1990s, despite the “industry standard” of background checks every 3 to 5 years. Furthermore, the archdiocese relied heavily on self-reporting by sexual misconduct offenders, “with very little effort made to verify if those reports were accurate.”
Haselberger points to record-keeping policies that were “haphazard at best, and made it nearly impossible to locate them once the problem was identified.”
“In many cases, the active personnel files of these priests did not contain any reference to the existence of the files that had been archived, meaning that someone reviewing one of these priests’ personnel file would not necessarily discover that there were concerns regarding misconduct,” she said. …
Pimp calls the chancery
In March or April of 2013, the archdiocese learned of new allegations that a priest had been “engaging the services of prostitutes.” Haselberger and others learned of these allegations when a man named Robert called the chancery complaining that one of his “associates” named Nicole had provided services to a priest but hadn’t been paid.
It was discovered the priest in question was being extorted for $30,000, but former vicar general, Father Peter Laird, wouldn’t allow Haselberger to review the parish financial reports or speak with the bookkeeper about irregularities.
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