A Problem with Seminary Formation?

By Jennifer Haselberger
Canonical Consultation
February 24, 2015

http://canonicalconsultation.com/blog.html

Apropos of the Commonweal Magazine article on sexual formation at Saint John Vianney College Seminary in Saint Paul, it should be noted that the formation program at the Saint Paul Seminary (also in Saint Paul) has also been called into question at least in part because of the ongoing legal troubles of Reverend Xiu Hui 'Joseph' Jiang.

Father Jiang attended the Saint Paul Seminary prior to his 2010 ordination as a priest for the Archdiocese of Saint Louis. During his seminary formation Jiang (a native of Hong Kong) was under the sponsorship of (Arch)bishop Robert Carlson, first as Bishop of Saginaw and then as Archbishop of Saint Louis, an unusual relationship that raised concern at the seminary at the time. While a student Father Jiang completed parish internships in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis including, if I remember correctly, at Saint John the Baptist Church and School in New Brighton.

Father Jiang's legal troubles began very shortly after his ordination. Within three years he was charged with child endangerment and witness tampering in connection with inappropriate contact with a teenage girl. The criminal charges in that matter were dismissed when prosecutors could not establish that Father Jiang had been alone with the girl, but the civil case continues. Then, in May of 2014, Father Jiang was indicted by a Missouri grand jury and charged with sexual contact with a minor male under the age of 14. The sexual contact is alleged to have occurred in 2011-2012 at the parish school where Father Jiang was assigned.

The criminal and civil cases are still pending, so there has been no determination of guilt and it may prove that Father Jiang is not guilty of the charges. Father Jiang has been on leave since the first accusations were made. He has many supporters who avow his innocence, including Archbishop Carlson and a group called 'Friends of Father Joseph Jiang'. However, the circumstances surrounding the accusations raise questions about the formation provided to Father Jiang during his time at SPS, especially regarding establishing and maintaining proper boundaries.