Maplewood Priest Barred from Ministry Temporarily

Minneapolis Sun-Times
October 20, 2015

http://minneapolis.suntimes.com/mpls-news/7/84/229677/maplewood-priest-barred-from-ministry-temporarily

Mark Andrew Huberty (Courtesy of Ramsey County sheriff's office)

The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis said Tuesday that it is temporarily removing from ministry a priest who was acquitted last year of sexual misconduct with a female parishioner.

The archdiocese launched its investigation into the Rev. Mark Huberty after the criminal case ended and determined the priest might have violated canon law, according to a statement from Archbishop Bernard Hebda.

While the internal investigation, or canonical process, unfolds, Huberty is barred from performing ministerial duties; he cannot "wear a Roman collar or present himself as a priest publicly," the statement said.

"Removing a priest from ministry, even temporarily, is gravely serious to me and to the Church," Hebda's statement said. "But based on the evidence and testimony from those involved, this is the proper course of action."

The archdiocese said "some serious allegations" had come to its attention. The Ministerial Review Board "found that there was sufficient evidence to suggest Rev. Huberty may have committed a serious offense under canon law," according to the statement.

A spokesman for the archdiocese declined to specify the allegations against Huberty.

Huberty, 45, of Mendota Heights, declined comment Tuesday.

Huberty was previously assigned to Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Maplewood. He was placed on leave in September 2013, around the time allegations surfaced that he had a pastoral relationship that became sexual with an adult parishioner, and has been on leave since.

He was charged in Ramsey County District Court with fourth- and fifth-degree criminal sexual conduct. The first charge alleged he had sexual contact with the woman while providing spiritual aid or comfort in private. Under Minnesota law, that is a felony for a clergy member.

According to the charges, Huberty had a friendship with a woman from his parish that began when she reached out after her brother's death, but over time it became sexual. The defense argued that the woman had aggressively pursued the relationship and that Huberty was not providing religious or spiritual guidance when the relationship became intimate. There reportedly was intimate touching and heavy petting, but the pair did not have intercourse.

A jury acquitted Huberty of both counts in December.

His defense attorney, Paul Engh, said at the time that the ordeal was "a misunderstanding between two adults" and that charges never should have been filed.

Earlier this year, Huberty filed a claim against the archdiocese in its bankruptcy case, asking the church to cover $46,000 in legal fees for his criminal case. Criminal and civil cases have been filed against other priests and bishops, Huberty said in his claim affidavit, "and it is widely known that their legal expenses have been paid for by the archdiocese."

In the course of their criminal investigation that led to the 2013 charges against Huberty, Maplewood police found evidence the priest had relationships with other women.

"Investigators were able to identify what appeared to be some repeated conduct of inappropriate relationships with women," Maplewood police Chief Paul Schnell said.

None of the other cases resulted in criminal charges, often because the women didn't want charges to be filed, Schnell said.

Elizabeth Mohr can be reached at 651-228-5162. Follow her at twitter.com/LizMohr.