September 13, 2018 • Newspaper of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis
Karen students join St. Jerome Nearly 50 children of refugees from Myanmar enroll at Maplewood school, creating both excitement and challenges. — Pages 12-13
Abuse pain acknowledged Archbishop Bernard Hebda expresses sorrow for the hurt felt by victims, announces Holy Hour of reparation and prayers for healing Sept. 15. — Page 5
Philanthropist honored Aim Higher Foundation chooses Karen Rauenhorst to receive its Night of Light award Sept. 28 for her efforts to provide Catholic elementary school students scholarships. — Page 7
Seal of confession Member of Vatican court explains why priests can’t reveal what they hear from penitents.
Grandparents encouraged
— Page 15
Crystal Crocker of the Office of Evangelization speaks at Iowa conference about passing on the faith to grandchildren. — Page 16
Seminary: A safe place? Church scandals have turned scrutiny on seminary culture and formation, but local leaders say SPS, SJV safe and flourishing By Maria Wiering The Catholic Spirit
“H
ow do I know my son is safe in the seminary?” A parent of a seminarian recently posed that question to Bishop Andrew Cozzens, the interim rector of the St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity in St. Paul. It was the first time he’d been asked that in 15 years of involvement in seminary formation, and it was a “very painful” question to hear, he said. But he understands why it was asked. Nationally, seminary formation has come under scrutiny following allegations that former-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick sexually harassed seminarians, and that sexual misconduct has been tolerated in some seminaries. Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston canceled a trip to the World Meeting of Families in Dublin last month to address allegations of sexual misconduct in his archdiocesan seminary, and allegations of sexual misconduct have surfaced against a now-deceased former vocations director of the Diocese of Lincoln, Nebraska. Meanwhile, the Pennsylvania grand jury report detailing clergy sexual abuse in that state over 70 years includes accounts that the behavior of some priests later named as abuse perpetrators was red-flagged during
DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
Seminarian Jake Epstein, second from right, of the Diocese of Des Moines, Iowa, prays during the opening Mass at the St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity Sept. 4. At right is Kaleb Quast from the Diocese of Duluth. seminary preparation, but they were allowed to be ordained. In the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, seminary leaders are confident that the overall culture and formation process are healthy, and they are shaping future priests in a way that helps them form appropriate and authentic relationships with each other and their some-day parishioners. “As soon as the stories around former Cardinal McCarrick were breaking, we realized that we needed to address this very directly with the seminarians, because that story highlighted the fact that seminarians find themselves in a vulnerable position. That is, they need the approval of their superiors in order to move towards ordination,” Bishop Cozzens said. “We wanted to make sure that they knew that we would never
tolerate anyone who would abuse that vulnerability in any way.” To parents and seminarians, Bishop Cozzens has been making it clear that seminarians are indeed safe at the St. Paul Seminary, and that they can trust the seminary’s leaders. “The key is that the formation we’re trying to do in the seminary requires trust,” he told The Catholic Spirit. “That has to be mutual trust. They have to trust us. We have to trust them. The seminarians have to trust the faculty, and the faculty have to trust the seminarians. That’s the only way that the kind of human growth that is needed in the seminary can happen, ... so we needed to establish right away that this is a safe environment.” PLEASE TURN TO SEMINARY ON PAGE 8
Bishop Cozzens: Archbishop Nienstedt investigation ‘doomed to fail’ Controversy illustrates need for independent review board for allegations against bishops By Maria Wiering The Catholic Spirit Bishop Andrew Cozzens said the Catholic Church “desperately needs an independent structure, led by experienced lay personnel, to investigate and review allegations made against bishops, archbishops and cardinals” in an Aug. 31 statement. “I am acutely aware of this, because I was personally involved, along with Bishop Lee Piché, in guiding the investigation of Archbishop John Nienstedt in 2014,” he said. “In retrospect, it was doomed to fail.” In January 2014, Archbishop Nienstedt, then the leader of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, directed his subordinates to investigate allegations of sexual misconduct that had been made against him. The investigation — and
especially, how it ended — has received renewed international interest after retired U.S. nuncio Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò denied Aug. 26 that he had instructed Bishop Piché and Bishop Cozzens to end it. Speaking of the investigation’s weakness from its start, Bishop Cozzens, the auxiliary bishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis, said, “We did not have enough objectivity or experience with such investigations. Nor did we have authority to act. Throughout our efforts, we did not know where we could turn for assistance, because there was no meaningful structure to address allegations against bishops.” When the probe yielded “affidavits containing serious allegations of misconduct by Archbishop Nienstedt with adults,” Bishop Cozzens said he and Bishop Piché “tried our best to bring them to the attention of people who might have the authority to act and guide the investigation.” That included an April 12, 2014, meeting in Washington with Archbishop Viganò, then the U.S. nuncio, a Vatican diplomat who also serves as a liaison between the Vatican and U.S. bishops.
“When Bishop Piché and I believed that we were being told by the nuncio to close the investigation, we strenuously objected. When the nuncio clarified that we should focus the investigation and complete it, we did so,” he said. “Although there were internal disagreements about how to complete it, Bishop Piché thought it best to hire a second firm to complete the review, because Archbishop Nienstedt contended the first firm had been unfair to him. Father Daniel Griffith [then the archdiocese’s safe environment delegate] strongly disagreed with that decision. During this long period, on more than one occasion, I counseled Archbishop Nienstedt to resign for the good of the archdiocese.” He continued: “Throughout this process, there was confusion about who was ultimately in charge and what should be done to ensure a fair outcome. I think that Bishop Piché believes that the investigation was completed to the best of his ability. I understand the strong frustrations expressed by Father Griffith, PLEASE TURN TO INVESTIGATION ON PAGE 6