TWIN CITIES (MN)
The Catholic Spirit
September 1, 2018
By Maria Wiering
Controversy illustrates need for independent review board for allegations against bishops
Bishop Andrew Cozzens said that the Catholic Church “desperately needs an independent structure, led by experienced lay personnel, to investigate and review allegations made against bishops, archbishops and cardinals” in an Aug. 31 statement.
“I am acutely aware of this, because I was personally involved, along with Bishop Lee Piché, in guiding the investigation of Archbishop John Nienstedt in 2014,” he said. “In retrospect, it was doomed to fail.”
In January 2014, Archbishop Nienstedt, then the leader of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, charged his subordinates with investigating allegations of sexual misconduct that had been made against him. The investigation — and especially, how it ended — has received renewed international interest after retired U.S. nuncio Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò denied Aug. 26 that he had instructed Bishop Piché and Bishop Cozzens to end it.
Speaking of the investigation’s weakness from its start, Bishop Cozzens, the auxiliary bishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis said, “We did not have enough objectivity or experience with such investigations. Nor did we have authority to act. Throughout our efforts, we did not know where we could turn for assistance, because there was no meaningful structure to address allegations against bishops.”
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