Protesters in St. Paul Ask Archbishop to Resign

By Will Ashenmacher
The Pioneer Press
November 09, 2013

http://www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_24490870/protesters-st-paul-ask-archbishop-resign

Tom Mahowald of St. Paul joins in a protest demanding that Archbishop John Nienstedt step down in his leadership role of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis at the Cathedral of St Paul on Saturday afternoon, Nov. 9, 2013.

Archbishop John Nienstedt

Friends Kathleen Olsen, right and Paul Mandell, left, listen to Michael Bayly, a speaker for the Catholic Coalition for Church Reform, outside the Cathedral of St. Paul. The protesters gathered Saturday to demand that Archbishop John Nienstedt step down from his leadership role in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneaplis.

On Saturday, strong gusts of wind couldn't whip away the message of the signs at a protest in front of Archbishop John Nienstedt's personal residence: "Morally bankrupt." "Again?" "Resign."

About 150 people gathered on Cathedral Hill in St. Paul to ask that Nienstedt step down. The demonstration followed a tumultuous period for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis in which it has been alleged that officials there concealed the sexual misconduct of priests.

"We should not have to stand here," said Eric Fought, a first-year seminarian at St. John's School of Theology in Collegeville, Minn. "Over the course of the past 10 years, we've been told that these mistakes have been corrected. They haven't.

Many of those at the protest said they still consider themselves Catholic. They said they respect the religion itself but are angry with the archdiocese's leadership for what they perceive as its impropriety.

"Why should we not just pray for healing and be nice to one another?" said Bob Beutel of St. Paul, co-chair of the Catholic Coalition for Church Reform. "The answer is simple: wounds cannot heal until the knife is pulled out."

"My heart breaks for children who are abused," said Cindy Schumacher, a St. Paul resident who described herself as a nonpracticing Catholic. "I can't imagine how bad it is to be abused. ... And for people to allow it and to hide it, it's immoral. I don't know how these people sleep at night."

The archdiocese released a statement Saturday afternoon.

"It is my most sincere hope that the commitments and actions that my leadership team and I are taking, and will continue to take, will restore trust to our communities," Nienstedt said in the statement. "We take these matters very seriously and will continue to share more information in the coming weeks regarding our actions to create and maintain safe environments. Nothing is more important."

Contact: washenmacher@pioneerpress.com