Archbishop claims he knew little about clergy abuse

By Jay Olstad
KARE
April 23, 2014

http://www.kare11.com/story/news/local/2014/04/23/archbishop-claims-he-knew-little-about-clergy-abuse/8038111/

MINNEAPOLIS – In a newly released deposition Tuesday, Archbishop John Nienstedt claimed he was unaware of clergy sex abuse during his tenure.

CLICK HERE FOR TRANSCRIPTS OF THE DEPOSITION OF ARCHBISHOP JOHN NIENSTEDT

He also claimed that one of his top deputies advised him not to write down conversations they had about clergy misconduct, advice he said he followed.

A judge ordered the deposition, which is part of a lawsuit filed against the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. It took place April 2 and lasted four hours.

Attorney Jeff Anderson pressed Nienstedt on many topics, including why the archbishop did not inform parishioners they had priests working in their churches with allegations of child sexual misconduct

"I believe that we felt that we could monitor the situation without making a total disclosure to the people," said Nienstedt.

Nienstedt claimed church officials have always turned over information to police, but only if they first found evidence they deemed to be credible of illegal behavior.

"So is it your position and practice that you don't turn it over unless they ask?" asked Anderson. "That is correct," responded Nienstedt.

Nienstedt put a lot of the responsibility on Father Kevin McDonough, former Vicar General. In fact, he admitted that McDonough told him not to put some of their discussions in writing because it may end up in a lawsuit.

"I believe that Father McDonough once said that to me, but it was outside of that context. I can't recall exactly the date," he told Anderson.

McDonough's attorney did not return a phone message for comment.

Anderson also asked Nienstedt about potential child pornography found several years ago on a priest's laptop. In the testimony, Nienstedt said he never contacted police because he felt it was not child porn, even though he admitted it was tough to tell.

Nienstedt also said Father Peter Laird had issues with the archbishop appointing Father Curtis Wehmeyer to a church in St. Paul back in 2009. Laird served as the Vicar General at that time.

According to Nienstedt, Laird allegedly called Wehmeyer "unstable." Nienstedt disagreed and appointed him anyway. He said he felt Laird had a personal bias toward Wehmeyer. Wehmeyer was later convicted of sexually abusing two teenage boys in 2013.

Throughout the entire deposition, Anderson and the church's attorney sparred over questions. The passionate back and forth brought the deposition to an abrupt end when Anderson asked Nienstedt to release more clergy files.

Anderson has turned over the deposition to the St. Paul Police Department, which says it is examining the evidence to determine its value, if any in the criminal cases it's currently investigating.