MINNESOTA
National Catholic Reporter
Brian Roewe | Jul. 21, 2016
The Vatican envoy to the United States quashed an investigation into alleged homosexual activity on the part of Archbishop John Nienstedt and ordered a piece of evidence destroyed, according to an 11-page memo unsealed Wednesday afternoon.
In the memo, Fr. Dan Griffith, then-Delegate for Safe Environment for the St. Paul-Minneapolis archdiocese, stated that in April 2014 Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, apostolic nuncio to the U.S., ordered two auxiliary bishops to have a St. Paul law firm quickly wrap its investigation and later that month instructed them to destroy a letter they had sent Vigano pushing back on his request.
The memo, dated July 7, 2014, was a part of numerous legal documents disclosed Wednesday following the conclusion of a criminal investigation into the archdiocese by Ramsey County prosecutors. The six criminal charges brought last summer were dropped after the archdiocese agreed to add an admission of wrongdoing to the civil settlement it reached with the county in December. No charges were brought against individuals, with Ramsey County Prosecutor John Choi saying there was insufficient evidence to do so against any one person.
The documents, though, give perhaps the clearest view to date into the until-now largely concealed investigation of Nienstedt, which explored allegations that he engaged in sexual misconduct with other adult males, including seminarians. In previous months, local media had obtained and reported on several of the allegations.
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