MINNESOTA
Canonical Consultation
12/23/2015
Jennifer Haselberger
Since last Friday’s announcement of a settlement between the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis and the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office regarding the civil petition filed in June of 2015, many of you have contacted me to express your disappointment with the terms of the settlement. I understand your frustration. The terms of the settlement read, at least at first glance, like a restatement of all the promises that the Archdiocese has made, and broken, over the past twenty-five years, and suggests little reason for hope. At the same time, I agree with news reports that have suggested that the agreement is without precedent, and I tend to lay the blame for the weaknesses of the agreement with the Archdiocese rather than with the court. Here is why.
When the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office filed its civil petition on June 3, 2015, it sought to prevent the Archdiocese from engaging in further acts that would cause harm to or contribute to the delinquency of minors. The means to accomplish this, according to the petition, was for the court to evaluate the Archdiocese’s child protection program and identify and develop a plan to address any weaknesses, and for the Archdiocese over a period of years to have to prove to the court’s satisfaction that such weaknesses have been addressed and that the program is functioning as intended. The settlement agreement includes provision for the latter, while the stipulations suggest exactly where such weaknesses have been found and how the Archdiocese has proposed to remedy them. On these points, the victory clearly lays with the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office.
Yet, the scope of both the court’s oversight and the practices and procedures it covers are extremely limited. This is because, as the agreement notes, it pertains only to the Archdiocese’s Central Corporation, and does not include the parishes, seminaries, or Catholic schools where, historically, the vast majority of sexual abuse of minors by clergy has taken place. In other words, the provisions of the agreement must be followed by the Central Corporation (the administrative offices of the Archdiocese) but a parish or school can disregard the provisions without fear of consequences beyond a possible letter from the Chancery. While this is extremely problematic, it is not the fault of the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office. The civil petition and criminal charges were filed against the Archdiocesan corporation and, as we all know, the Archdiocese has long maintained that its parishes and schools are separately incorporated and not under the control of the Archbishop. The agreement, therefore, represents what could be reasonably achieved within the limits of the law.
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