Archdiocese, Ramsey County Reach Landmark Settlement in Clergy Sex Abuse Civil Case
By Elizabeth Mohr
A little more than a year after the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis announced a new child-protection plan, developed as part of a settlement in a clergy sex abuse lawsuit, the archdiocese has unveiled another landmark plan. The new plan, announced Friday in Ramsey County District Court in St. Paul, builds on what was already in place, creating exhaustive protocols and more clearly defined expectations of everyone in the church. Most important, the plan goes beyond promises to the public: It requires oversight by the county attorney's office and the court. The plan is the result of a settlement agreement between the archdiocese and the county attorney's office, which filed civil charges last year in conjunction with criminal charges against the archdiocese. "The settlement agreement is the latest and most public indicator that this archdiocese has earnestly embarked on a journey of self-reflection, evaluation and action," the Most Rev. Bernard Hebda, the archdiocese's administrator, said Friday. "If there were any doubts about the archdiocese's pledge to keeping kids safe, the provisions announced today -- going beyond what the law would require -- should help put those doubts to rest." County Attorney John Choi called the agreement an "unprecedented and landmark civil settlement. " 'COMMITMENT TO CHANGE' Choi said the agreement goes beyond what the court could have imposed, and he commended church officials for their willingness to negotiate and agree to such stringent requirements. "As a commitment to meaningful change, the archdiocese has agreed to be subject to the oversight of our office and the court for three years as they continue to transform their organizational culture and practices with respect to addressing clergy sexual abuse," he said. Agreement was possible, Choi said, because both sides shared a goal: protecting children. Some elements of the plan include: -- Broader background checks for clergy and church volunteers. -- Mandatory and ongoing child-protection training. -- Mandatory reporting of suspected child abuse to law enforcement. -- Creation of a fund for victim counseling. -- Creation of an ombudsman position. -- Decision-making must go through the archdiocese's ministerial review board. -- More laity involvement. -- Regular audits and reviews to assure protocols are being implemented and followed, subject to review by the county attorney's office and the court. As part of the agreement, the civil case will be put on hold for three years as the archdiocese implements its plan, returning to court with progress reports every six months. At the end of the three-year period, if the archdiocese has held up its end of the deal, the county attorney's office would dismiss its case. The agreement builds on a child-protection plan unveiled in October 2014 after a settlement in the groundbreaking John Doe 1 lawsuit. In that case, Doe 1 sued the archdiocese and the Diocese of Winona in May 2013, alleging that former priest Thomas Adamson abused him when he was a boy. When the 17-protocol plan was announced, Doe 1's attorneys stood alongside church officials in revealing what they called a landmark agreement and said, "We've forged a new way." That suit was remarkable in other ways, too. It resulted in the disclosure of thousands of pages of clergy personnel documents from the church, as well as sworn testimony from top-ranking church officials. The impetus was a ruling by Ramsey County District Judge John Van de North, who has since retired, allowing Doe 1's attorneys to pursue a "public nuisance" claim. The attorneys argued that the archdiocese and diocese had created a public nuisance by concealing information about Adamson and moving him from parish to parish as his abuse came to light. A FIRST It was the first time a public nuisance claim was allowed to move forward in a case against a Catholic entity.
In his order on the issue, Van de North wrote: "The court need look no further than Fathers Adamson and Curtis Wehmeyer as unfortunate examples of the horrendous consequences that can flow from intentional and misguided efforts to protect pedophile priests at the expense of minors." Friday's announcement of a new and more expansive plan, under the watch of the county attorney, shows the commitment of the church to make meaningful changes, Choi said. "They are doing these things, and we have insisted on these things, because we have focused on something we agree on: the protection of children moving forward," Choi said. Charles Reid, a law professor at the University of St. Thomas, concurred that Friday's agreement is a significant landmark. "We haven't seen this level of cooperation and collaboration between church and state, if you will, in these cases prior to this," Reid said. "What we've seen up to date is some sort of adversary process. This moves away from that and moves toward a process that emphasizes shared goals and an outcome that's good for everybody." Reid said that, for Catholics, "this brings tons of relief, a sense of optimism that maybe we can have this behind us." He noted that, while the agreement is a substantial step in the right direction, there remain unresolved issues in the bankruptcy and criminal courts. The archdiocese filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January, citing an operating deficit and pending clergy sex abuse lawsuits. Officials at the time said bankruptcy would allow the church to settle those cases "fairly and with finality." Bankruptcy proceedings, including mediation discussions, are ongoing. The archdiocese has until the end of May to submit its plan for reorganization. WEHMEYER CASE The criminal charges were outlined in a 43-page criminal complaint, alleging that archdiocesan officials -- including former Archbishop John Nienstedt, former Archbishop Harry Flynn and former Vicar General Kevin McDonough -- ignored complaints and reports about then-priest Wehmeyer's behavior, which included sexual compulsions and alcohol abuse, for years before he was arrested and charged with a crime. Wehmeyer is now in prison and has since been defrocked by the Vatican. Only the archdiocesan corporation has been charged, which means that no individual would be held accountable and that the archdiocese would likely face a small fine if convicted. The criminal charges include three counts of contributing to the need for protection of minors and three counts of contributing to the delinquency of a child. The charges center on Wehmeyer's case because the acts were recent and within the statute of limitations, prosecutors have said. The criminal case is pending. The archdiocese has not yet entered a plea in the case. Just 10 days after the civil and criminal cases were filed, Nienstedt and Auxiliary Bishop Lee Anthony Piche resigned, and the Vatican appointed Hebda, currently co-adjutor archbishop of Newark, N.J., as apostolic administrator for the Twin Cities archdiocese. Hebda is scheduled to succeed Newark's current archbishop when he retires in July 2016. A new archbishop for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis is likely to be named in the spring. Some credit Hebda for the positive changes underway at the archdiocese. "Things are much less poisonous than they were in, say, early spring," Reid said. "That's all attributable, I think, to Archbishop Hebda, who seems to be quiet, he doesn't say much publicly, but he's getting things done." Choi also deserves credit for his work on the case, Reid said. The choice to file both a criminal case -- "a blunt-force instrument" -- and a civil case "was creative," Reid said. "They opened up the opportunity for this finely crafted settlement," he said. Elizabeth Mohr can be reached at 651-228-5162. Follow her at twitter.com/LizMohr.
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