MINNESOTA
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Grant Gallicho October 25, 2013
Yesterday, after shying away from the press for weeks, Archbishop John Nienstedt of St. Paul and Minneapolis responded to the disturbing revelations about the way his diocese has been handling priests accused of sexual misconduct. He apologized to victims and their families. He promised to do better. And he pledged “before God and in memory of my beloved parents”–whose deaths he recounts at the top of his weekly column–“to do all in my power to restore trust here in this local church.”
A tall order–made taller still by Nienstedt’s reluctance to come clean about the facts of the cases in question. (Last month, Nienstedt’s former top canon lawyer, Jennifer Haselberger, publicly revealed that the current and past archbishops of St. Paul-Minneapolis promoted a priest with a history of sexual misconduct–who later went on to abuse children–and failed to notify civil authorities when they learned that another priest had possessed “borderline illegal” images of what appeared to be minors.) In an e-mail interview with Minnesota Public Radio (MPR)–his first since they started reporting on this fiasco weeks ago–Nienstedt answers relatively straightforward questions with something shy of the whole truth.
MPR led by asking why Nienstedt didn’t go to the police after learning about the priest whose computer apparently contained “borderline illegal” photos. Here’s Nienstedt’s response:
NIENSTEDT: The analysis completed in 2004 did not find evidence of possession of child pornography. The images that [former chancellor for canonical affairs Jennifer] Haselberger showed to coworkers were of pop-up ads. Pop-up ads are unsolicited and often attach to the hard drive without the user’s awareness or permission.
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