MINNESOTA
National Catholic Reporter
NCR Editorial Staff | Sep. 5, 2014
EDITORIAL
The time has come for the St. Paul-Minneapolis archdiocese to fully disclose the results of an investigation by a local law firm into allegations of sexual misconduct with adults by Archbishop John Nienstedt.
The health of any organization, especially one holding itself to the high standards of a religious community that regularly presents itself as a public arbiter of personal morality, is dependent on mutual respect and trust. Those characteristics, in turn, are dependent on transparency and accountability, particularly on the part of bishops, who hold almost unlimited authority over the Catholic community.
For a host of very public reasons, the trust between Nienstedt and much of the Catholic and civic community in St. Paul-Minneapolis has collapsed. An unrelenting and damaging stream of reports have documented cases of clergy sex abuse and the failure of Nienstedt and other chancery personnel to report or discipline clergy suspected of molesting children, leaving countless children at risk. It is clear they spent more time and effort attempting to conceal their negligence than they did being candid with the people of the archdiocese. They failed to uphold the 2002 Dallas Charter for the protection of children, the only yardstick we have to judge church leaders’ pledges to keep children safe.
The erosion of trust between Nienstedt and the Catholics of the archdiocese has continued for months, leading prominent Catholics and local and national newspapers to call for his resignation.
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