(From combined sources)
ST. PAUL — Pope Francis on June 15 announced the resignation of Archbishop John Nienstedt and Auxiliary Bishop Lee Piché from the pastoral care of the St. Paul-Minneapolis Archdiocese.
Ten days earlier, the Attorney’s Office of Ramsey County, St. Paul, Minn., had filed criminal charges against the Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis for failing to protect children from a priest who was sexually abusive, Curtis Wehmeyer.
Former priest Wehmeyer is serving a prison term of five years. In 2013, he pled guilty to 20 counts related to child sex abuse and child pornography. Wehmeyer sexually abused two boys in 2010 while serving as pastor of Blessed Sacrament Church in St. Paul.
In March, Pope Francis issued a decree to permanently bar Wehmeyer from exercising priestly ministry and from presenting himself as a priest.
Last January, the St. Paul-Minneapolis Archdiocese filed for bankruptcy protection, in part because of the legal costs of sexual abuse litigation.
Archbishop Nienstedt stated on June 15 that although he is stepping down, his conscience is clear with regard to the protection of minors and vulnerable adults from sexual abuse, according to a Catholic News Agency report by Ann Schneible.
“My leadership has unfortunately drawn attention away from the good works of [Christ’s] Church and those who perform them,” said Archbishop Nienstedt in his statement on the archdiocesan website, explaining his reasons for resigning.
The prelate explained that he submitted his resignation to allow the archdiocese to have “a new beginning amidst the many challenges we face.”
Despite the charges facing the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Archbishop Nienstedt maintained that he and others had worked to prevent sexual abuse.
“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 wrote.
Nienstedt headed the archdiocese for seven years.
Bishop Piché also issued a statement on the website of the archdiocese.
“The people of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis need healing and hope. I was getting in the way of that, and so I had to resign,” he said.
“I submitted my resignation willingly, after consultation with others in and outside the archdiocese.”
He added: “The Catholic Church is not our Church, but Christ’s Church, and we are merely stewards for a time.”
The June 15 Washington Post reported: “On Monday [June 15], the Vatican declined to say whether Nienstedt and Piché had been forcibly removed or had stepped down by choice.”
Pope Francis has appointed Archbishop Bernard Hebda as apostolic administrator of the St. Paul Archdiocese. Hebda is the coadjutor archbishop of Newark, N.J. He will lead the archdiocese until the Holy Father appoints a successor to Nienstedt.
Bishop Andrew Cozzens, the remaining auxiliary bishop in the St. Paul Archdiocese, read this statement at a June 15 press conference outside the chancery:
“Today, our Holy Father, Pope Francis, announced the resignation of Archbishop John Nienstedt and Auxiliary Bishop Lee Piché from the pastoral care of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. At the same time, our Holy Father appointed Archbishop Bernard Hebda, currently the coadjutor archbishop of the Archdiocese of Newark, N.J., as the apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.
“As apostolic administrator, Archbishop Hebda serves as the official leader of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis until such time as a permanent archbishop can be appointed. He retains his duties as coadjutor archbishop of Newark and I will remain as auxiliary bishop.
“This has been a painful process. A change in leadership provides us an opportunity for greater healing and the ability to move forward. We will continue to do all we can to create safe environments for all children and to bring just resolution to the claims against the archdiocese. I ask your prayers for the healing of our archdiocese and most especially for the healing of all victims/survivors of clergy sexual abuse.
“I know that you have a lot of questions and I have to ask for your patience. There will be many unanswered questions as we take this significant transitional step to new leadership. I pledge personally that Archbishop Hebda and I will work closely to bring our archdiocese into a new day, so that the work of proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ which we have done here for almost 165 years may continue.”
Media reports noted Archbishop Nienstedt’s doctrinal orthodoxy and his adherence to Catholic moral teaching, emphasizing the controversy his stands engendered.
In 2012, under Nienstedt, the archdiocese spearheaded a battle against same-sex marriage, campaigning for a definition of marriage amendment that lost at the ballot box on November 6, 2012. Subsequently, the Minnesota legislature passed a bill allowing same-sex marriage. Gov. Mark Dayton signed the measure on May 14, 2013.
A June 16 report by Jenna Ross in the Minneapolis-based Star Tribune said: “Unease about Nienstedt’s leadership arose before he even moved into the chancery in St. Paul. As bishop in New Ulm [Minn.], he became known for his strict adherence to orthodox doctrine — denouncing his predecessor’s call for dialogue on opening the priesthood to women” among other strong stands.
The same issue of the Star Tribune quoted local Catholics who both hailed and lamented Nienstedt’s departure.
A parishioner at Assumption Church in downtown St. Paul said it was sad “that things happened like that, that people had to suffer here,” but: “It is going to take a new person to come in here and do what they can to repair it.”
A Mass attendee at Assumption who is not a parishioner remarked, however: “I never had any doubts about [Nienstedt’s] leadership myself. I think he inherited something he didn’t create.”
Another local Catholic quoted in the story said: “The archbishop is a good man. He inherited a lot of problems. Nienstedt was embattled before he got here. He was not welcome and it was a sad deal.”
Ramsey County Attorney John Choi, who brought criminal charges against the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, said the archbishop’s resignation won’t end his investigation of the archdiocese, the Associated Press reported.
The traditionalist Catholic website Rorate Caeli had this to say following the resignations:
“As our readers know well, Archbishop Nienstedt has been the subject of renewed accusations of ‘mishandling’ allegations of sexual abuse committed by a priest of the Archdiocese [of St. Paul-Minneapolis], only the latest in a series of accusations that have been hurled against him by his mostly liberal critics.
“As one conservative bishop after another is speedily removed over allegations of mishandling accusations of immorality and/or sexual abuse against the clergy subject to them, we await the day when liberal bishops and cardinals who are guilty of far greater offenses will experience the same treatment.”
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