MINNESOTA
Catholic Culture
July 21, 2016
Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, then apostolic nuncio to the United States, directed that an investigation into Archbishop John Nienstedt’s alleged homosexual activity be curtailed, and subsequently asked two auxiliary bishops to destroy a letter about the case, according to a 2014 memo released on July 20 by prosecutors in Minnesota.
The memo’s author, identified in press reports as Father Daniel Griffith, served as liaison between the archdiocese and members of the investigative team. Archbishop Nienstedt, then archbishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, authorized the investigation into his alleged homosexual activity in January 2014.
In the memo—written in July 2014 after the investigation ceased—Father Griffith recounted in detail the history of the investigation. By April, ten affidavits contained “compelling” allegations of “sexual misconduct; sexual harassment; reprisals in response to the rejection of unwelcome advances; and excessive drinking.”
“Even if the Archbishop was innocent, the evidence was damaging enough that it would render him incapable of leading the Archdiocese,” wrote Father Griffith, who noted that the investigators still had 24 leads to pursue.
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