MINNESOTA
Canonical Consultation

12/08/2015

Jennifer Haselberger

Yesterday, it was announced that the US Supreme Court had declined to hear the appeal of Father Christopher Wenthe, a priest of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis who in 2011 was convicted of third degree criminal sexual conduct under a Minnesota law that makes it a felony for a member of the clergy to engage in sexual conduct with a person to whom he or she is providing spiritual care. Wenthe has long admitted to the sexual relationship with the victim; the dispute is over whether that sexual relationship occurred simultaneous to his providing her with religious comfort or support.

None of this is news. The Wenthe case first appeared in the newspapers in February of 2011, when he was arrested from his offices at the Delano Catholic Community (the Churches of St. Joseph and St. Peter). The charges dated back…