Nienstedt asks Holy See to clarify ‘imprudent’ actions in Vos estis findings
The archbishop called for a clarification hours after ongoing restrictions were placed on his ministry.
Archbishop John Nienstedt, the former archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis, has asked the Holy See for clarity about the “imprudent” actions he was determined to have committed in a recently-concluded Vos estis investigation.
“I was recently informed that the Vos estis (investigation) by Dicasteries for Bishops and for the Doctrine of the Faith has been completed and that the Holy See determined that the available evidence did not support a finding that I had committed any canonical delict (crime) and deemed the allegations against me unfounded,” Nienstedt said in a Jan. 5 statement.
“I have asked the Holy See, through my canonical advocate, to clarify the ‘imprudent’ actions I allegedly committed while in Minnesota.”
Nienstedt said that he has “fully cooperated” with the canonical investigation and has “answered every question asked of me honestly and to the best of my recollection.”
His statement came a few hours after Archbishop Bernard Hebda announced an investigation under the norms of Vos estis lux mundi had determined that Nienstedt had engaged in several “imprudent” actions, but no canonical crimes.
“While none of these instances, either standing alone or taken together warrant any further canonical investigation or penal sanctions, it was determined by Pope Francis that the following administrative actions are justified,” Hebda wrote, listing three prohibitions placed on his predecessor:
Nienstedt may not exercise any public ministry in the province of St. Paul and Minneapolis, which covers the states of Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota, nor may he reside in the territory.
The archbishop is further prohibited from exercising public ministry “in any way” outside the diocese of his current residence, believed to be in Michigan, without the “express authorization” of his local bishop, and only after informing the Dicastery for Bishops in Rome.
In his statement, Nienstedt said he will abide by the restrictions placed upon him. The archbishop noted that since he is retired, his ministry will be limited in the future.
“I am sorry for any pain experienced by anyone because of the allegations against me, and ask for your prayers for their healing. I also ask for continued prayers for the well-being of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and its leaders,” he said.
Nienstedt is the first U.S. bishop to have prohibitions on his ministry publicly imposed following an investigation under the norms of Vos estis lux mundi.
The archbishop left office in 2015 following a series of allegations of failure to deal appropriately with instances of clerical sexual abuse by priests of the archdiocese.
He said at the time that he had resigned “in order to give the archdiocese a new beginning amidst the many challenges we face.”
“I leave with a clear conscience knowing that my team and I have put in place solid protocols to ensure the protection of minors and vulnerable adults,” he added.
After his resignation, allegations of misconduct were made against the archbishop personally.
He was succeeded by Archbishop Bernard Hebda, then-coadjutor Archbishop of Newark, who arrived as apostolic administrator until being named Archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis in 2016.
This is certainly not a new story. The Archbishop and one of his Auxiliary Bishops resigned on June 15, 2015 at the request of Pope Francis. The first time a double resignation occured on the same day in recent memory. The full statement is not going to be released ( due to confidentiality) any time soon.
And if it was, it would cover the interviews of priests from the Archdiocese of Detroit, in addition to Saint Paul /Minneapolis. In Detroit for example priests testified of sexual encounters at a public (of which Nienstedt participated in) park not far from Cardinal Deadens residence
( Nienstedt was the Cardinals live in Secretary)
And also numerous visual sightings of Nienstedt at a gay bar called
'Happy Tap' across the river in Canada, for beginners. This is just the first layer. Unfortunately, this is the state of the culture of the priesthood in the United States. The recent case of Fr. Mark Payne in Milwaukee demonstrates the generational aspects of this moral failure within the clergy.
If pillarcatholic.com had not been willing to dig deeper, no one would be the wiser in Milwaukee.
Vigano was nuncio(2015) at the timet he independent report was presented by both of Nienstedt's auxiliaries. Vigano worked with Nienstedt in Rome years ago, and he slow walked the independent investigation. Eight years later and this is the result? The Archbishop's attempt to go public with his questions at this late date is something that should be requested through his cannon lawyer. Restrictions are not being lifted, and the Archbishop states that he ' will abide' with the restrictions in place, and is also currently in a 'retired state'.
There are many layers to this issue from Detroit to New Ulm, and Saint Paul/ Minneapolis.
Until laypeople are included in these reviews in Rome, there frankly is no incentive to be independent, factual, detailed, and transparent on the myriad of cases under the current norms.
These men will continue to cover for each other and minimize the impact to the clergy.
This is a strange tale to me: he appears to be given something like a penalty, but he wasn't tried for any misconduct (much less found guilty).
He may have done things wrong (I have no idea), but this seems to fit in to a concerning trend of ignoring laws and legal processes while still imposing punishments.
Thoughts?