NY Times: Pope's housecleaning should start with Twin Cities archbishop

KMSP
July 21, 2014

http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/story/26072660/ny-times-popes-housecleaning-should-start-with-twin-cities-archbishop

ST. PAUL, Minn. (KMSP) -

If Pope Francis is serious about holding bishops accountable for sexual abuse and cover-ups in the Catholic Church, the New York Times editorial board says his first stop should be the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

“When Pope Francis met earlier this month with victims of rape and sexual abuse by priests, he vowed to hold bishops accountable for covering up the scandal instead of confronting it,” the board wrote in a July 17 opinion. “A good place to start is with the St. Paul-Minneapolis archdiocese, where calls are mounting for the resignation of Archbishop John Nienstedt, a warrior against same-sex marriage who, it turns out, is facing accusations that he indulged in improper sexual conduct in the past with priests, seminarians and other men.”

In a 107-page deposition released last week, former canon lawyer Jennifer Haselberger detailed several cases of the archdiocese allowing priests accused of sex offenses to remain in the ministry.

In a statement, the archdiocese said many of the Haselberger’s allegations happened a decade ago, and that “her recollections are not always shared by others within the archdiocese.”