MINNESOTA
Pioneer Press
By Ruben Rosario
rrosario@pioneerpress.com
POSTED: 07/24/2014
Last week I wrote a piece calling for Archbishop John Nienstedt to step down or be removed from his position. I will not repeat here the arguments I made. You can look up the column, which coincidentally was posted online the same day a blogger for the National Catholic Reporter also called for his resignation and a New York Times editorial urged Pope Francis to reconsider Nienstedt’s fitness to serve. But essentially, the mishandling of recent clergy abuse cases in the Twin Cities archdiocese warrants his resignation.
My reasons have nothing to do with previous allegations that he inappropriately touched a minor during a confirmation ceremony. My gut told me that was bogus, and cops later determined there was insufficient evidence to warrant charges.
There’s an internal church probe now into allegations that Nienstedt had inappropriate relationships with seminarians and others dating from the time he worked in Detroit. That also has little to do with my feelings since the investigation continues. Others within the church wanted him out after his somewhat obsessive and much-politicized crusade two years ago to support a state constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.
Using donated money, he signed off on an expensive campaign in 2010 to mail a DVD explaining his and the church’s views on homosexuality and same-sex marriage. The DVD was sent to 400,000 Catholic households in the state. I got one. I saw it. I don’t know where that DVD is now, but I think I tossed it. I thought Nienstedt and others of like mind in the church crossed the separation-of-church-and-state line into politicking from the pulpit.
But that wasn’t it either, though I predicted the crusade would backfire, as it did. The main reason is that the mishandlings put children and adults at risk, violated a 2002 churchwide policy on reporting abuse to authorities, and eventually led to the molestations of two St. Paul boys, reportedly one of whom went on to abuse a sister, by a parish priest already known for his sexual proclivities.
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