St. Paul Archdiocese: toward Trust

Pioneer Press
October 14, 2014

http://www.twincities.com/opinion/ci_26727537/st-paul-archdiocese-toward-trust

"I pray that the darkness of the past be overcome by the light of this new day."

-- The Rev. Charles Lachowitzer, vicar general of the Catholic Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis

That new day should begin to pave the way for healing after Monday's joint announcement of a legal settlement by archdiocesan officials and the lawyer for sex-abuse plaintiffs.

With it comes the hard work of restoring trust.

The church has been a central part of St. Paul's identity from our city's first days. After building the Chapel of St. Paul in 1841, "so delighted were the residents of Pig's Eye with their first community institution that they rechristened the river settlement in its honor," wrote Mary Lethert Wingerd in "Claiming the City," the 2001 book that serves as a biography of the city.

This week, Pioneer Press columnist Ruben Rosario called the scene in a historic courtroom at Landmark Center an unprecedented public reconciliation.

A news conference brought together former adversaries -- plaintiffs' attorney Jeff Anderson and church leaders -- with victims. They stood side by side in announcing a legal settlement and a 17-point child-protection agreement.

Through the current suit, the Pioneer Press' Emily Gurnon recounts, Anderson leveraged the disclosure of more than 50,000 pages of clergy personnel documents from the church, as well as sworn testimony from Archbishop John Nienstedt, former Archbishop Harry Flynn, former Vicars General Kevin McDonough and Peter Laird, and Robert Carlson, formerly with the Twin Cities archdiocese and now archbishop of St.

Louis.

The suit alleged that the archdiocese and the Diocese of Winona created a "public nuisance" by concealing information about former priest Thomas Adamson while moving him from parish to parish as abuse claims surfaced.

The settlement averts a trial, which was to begin Nov. 3. Financial terms are confidential.

As for the child-protection plan, it's been pointed out that many of the new protocols already are in place. However, Anderson highlighted efforts geared toward transparency and law enforcement access as "something not done before this action plan." Among key measures:

-- When the archdiocese receives a report of child sexual abuse and makes a required report to law enforcement, it will not conduct an internal investigation and "will not interfere in any way with law enforcement" until its work is concluded.

-- By March 31, the archdiocese "shall make a good faith effort" to obtain from each clergy member a written statement affirming that he has not sexually abused any minor at any time and has no knowledge of any abuse of a minor by another priest or employee of the archdiocese that has not been reported.

-- The archdiocese will continue a policy prohibiting individuals from being alone with any unrelated minor while serving as an employee or volunteer of the archdiocese or a parish, subject to common-sense exceptions, including emergency situations.

-- The archdiocese will disclose to other church entities or secular employers any accusation of sexual abuse by a past or present clergy member to the extent allowed by federal and state law.

Additional steps have included the hiring of Tim O'Malley, former head of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, who joined the staff of the archdiocese last month in the new post of director of ministerial standards and safe environment. He said Monday that former state Commissioner of Public Safety Michael Campion also has joined the archdiocese to work on the effort.

Archbishop John Nienstedt, noticeably absent on Monday, was traveling in Kenya. In a statement, he said the agreement "represents a historic moment in our efforts to assure the safety of children and vulnerable adults."

The church faces a future that also includes pending resolution of many sex-abuse claims that may result in bankruptcy, Lachowitzer acknowledged in Gurnon's report.

"We are humiliated," he told the crowd in the courtroom. "Yet we are humbled by the grace of God to be here today."

As we move on, there can be hope that deep local ties and traditions -- coupled with the new protocols -- can help the healing.