MINNESOTA/MASSACHUSETTS
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
For immediate release: Wednesday, July 16, 2014
Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 566 9790, SNAPclohessy@aol.com)
Catholic officials issued a “clearly false and deceptive statement” about the marriage of one of America’s most notorious predator priest, Fr. James Porter of the Fall River diocese, according to a stunning 107 page affidavit filed in a Minnesota court yesterday.
The affidavit is from Jennifer Haselberger, the former chancellor and canon lawyer for the St. Paul Catholic archdiocese. In April of 2013, she resigned in protest after repeated cases in which she felt that top Catholic staffers endangered kids, hid evidence of crimes and deceived parishioners and the public.
In an exhibit attached to her affidavit, Haselberger wrote last year to her boss, St. Paul Archbishop John Nienstedt:
“I discovered four ‘restricted’ files on Father James Porter, which included a 1974 ‘Stipulation to the Execution of Rescript’ which required Porter to receive the permission of the Archbishop in order to enter into marriage because of ‘past problems in sexual orientation’ that ‘might jeopardize a possible future marriage’, and a statement from the Archdiocese in the 1990s indicating that ‘there was no information trail that led from Porter’s abusive past to the decisions made about his marriage’ (a clearly false and deceptive statement).”
“This, in combination with other issues. . .have led me to conclude that it is impossible for me to continue in my position given my personal ethics, religious convictions, and sense of integrity.”
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