Archbishop John Nienstedt was in the middle of a heated political fight over same-sex marriage in February of last year when he learned of a disturbing secret, hidden in the basement of the chancery — pornography from a priest’s computer, some of which appeared to depict children. Canon lawyer Jennifer Haselberger had uncovered several computer discs and a white three-ring binder kept in the basement archives of the chancery building — the headquarters of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. It was evidence from a 2004 internal investigation of sexually explicit images found on the…
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A retired Catholic priest who served much of his career in the Northland has been removed from ministry after an accusation of child sexual abuse more than a generation ago. The Diocese of Duluth announced Sunday that the Rev. Cornelius Kelleher “has recently been credibly accused in the sexual abuse of a minor female during his time as pastor of St. Joseph’s Church in Chisholm from 1975 to 1986.” A statement from the diocese said that when the accusation came to light, Kelleher was immediately removed from public ministry and has been stripped of his abilities to function as a priest in ret…
Archbishop John Nienstedt kept a relatively low profile on clergy sexual abuse until last week. Now he finds himself overseeing an archdiocese scrambling to react to charges of a pornography coverup inside his chancery. Nienstedt’s top deputy resigned abruptly Thursday in response to an allegation that he covered up evidence of child pornography on a computer owned by a Hugo priest. The accusation came from attorney Jennifer Haselberger, a former high-ranking lay official within the archdiocese. And it followed her earlier accusation that the archdiocese overlooked for nearly a decad…
An attorney for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis said Friday that neither police investigators nor a computer forensics expert found evidence to support allegations by a former archdiocesan employee that one of its priests had viewed child pornography on his computer. Tom Wieser, an attorney for the archdiocese, said some “false inferences” have been drawn from police reports that seem to imply that child pornography was found on the priest’s old hard drive. The St. Paul police, Ramsey County and Washington County all indicated they would consider new investigations should evidenc…
News ReleaseOctober 4, 2013 Former Shattuck-St. Mary’s Teacher Lynn Seibel Sentenced to 52-month Prison Term Today New details emerge in second sexual abuse lawsuit filed (Faribault, MN) – A Rice County judge sentenced former Shattuck-St. Mary’s teacher Lynn Seibel, to 52 months in prison today after Seibel pled guilty in July for sexually abusing six male students at the elite private boarding school in Faribault, Minnesota. As an AP Drama teacher and dorm parent, Seibel encouraged “naked dance parties,” showed students pornography, and held group masturbation sessions with …
Upset that her superiors had refused to take action, a former church official reported to police that leaders of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis had kept secret for eight years images of pornography — some of it appearing to show children — belonging to one of its priests. Jennifer Haselberger, the archdiocese’s former chancellor for canonical affairs, marched the images she’d found into the offices of one church leader after another in May 2012. But none responded. The last straw for Haselberger came after she provided Archbishop John Nienstedt with copies of some of the images …
A top lieutenant of Archbishop John Nienstedt resigned suddenly Thursday, saying his departure was necessary following an explosive court development that suggested the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis may have covered up a priest’s possession of child pornography.
The Rev. Peter Laird had served as vicar general and moderator of the curia for the archdiocese, making him junior only to Nienstedt in the hierarchy.
His resignation came shortly after allegations emerged in a St. Paul court that church officials knew a priest had been in possession of child pornography but continued to as…
A top lieutenant of Archbishop John Nienstedt resigned suddenly Thursday, saying his departure was necessary following an explosive court development that suggested the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis may have covered up a priest’s possession of child pornography. The Rev. Peter Laird had served as vicar general and moderator of the curia for the archdiocese, making him junior only to Nienstedt in the hierarchy. His resignation came shortly after allegations emerged in a St. Paul court that church officials knew a priest had been in possession of child pornography but continued to as…
A former Little League baseball and Salvation Army youth basketball coach pleaded guilty Thursday afternoon to two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct. Peter Jay Olson, 47, faced eight felony charges on allegations that he sexually assaulted two preteen boys he coached through Little League. Judge Heather Sweetland accepted Olson’s plea and dismissed six other — mostly lesser — charges he faced. Sweetland ordered a presentence investigation and a psycho-sexual evaluation and scheduled sentencing for 1:30 p.m. Nov. 25. Under the terms of the plea agreement, Olson’s defense attorne…
Father Robert L. Brennan was ordained in 1964 in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and appointed pastor of St. Ignatius in Yardley, PA in 1988 by Archbishop Anthony Bevilacqua. Since then, the Archdiocese has learned of inappropriate behavior by Brennan, with more than 20 boys from four different parishes. Brennan remained in ministry despite these reports and Father Brennan remained pastor of Resurrection parish until June 2004. Brennan’s name was contained in the 1994 memo from Fr. William Lynn to the Asst. Vicar for Administration in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and listed under “All…
A Catholic priest whose alleged sexual abuse of teen and preteen boys figured prominently in last year’s trial of a Philadelphia church official was arrested Thursday on sex-abuse charges. The arrest of the Rev. Robert Brennan, 75 – confirmed by a source close to the case – is to be announced at a news conference this morning by District Attorney Seth Williams. Though Brennan was not charged as a result of the 2011 county grand jury report on clergy sex-abuse of children in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, the source said Brennan has been accused by a man, now in his 20s, of sexually molesti…
It appears that former Pope Benedict has come out of retirement – donned another hat, as it were – as a revisionist historian. In his first published comments since resigning as pope in February, Benedict has denied that he tried to cover up the sexual abuse of children by priests. The denial grabs headlines because it comes from Benedict, but it’s really just another instance of the church hierarchy clumsily and cynically attempting to protect itself while callously hurting survivors. Benedict’s denial is part of a letter he wrote to an Italian author who wrote a book about problems in …
There is an expression that states, “When you blame others, you give up the power to change.” Former Pope Benedict’s statement issued today, denying the cover-up of child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, is both alarming and disturbing and yet another crystal-clear reflection of the Vatican, its power structure and the clerical culture that is still present today. Unfortunately, the Vatican’s cycle of blaming others and refusing to change continue…
Today’s Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) story about the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis’ failure to protect its parishioners from one of its predator priests, Fr. Curtis Wehmeyer, needs to be read by everyone. The headline – “Archdiocese knew of priest’s sexual misbehavior, yet kept him in ministry” – itself tells the story. From there, the details of Archdiocesan self-preservation and negligence are infuriating. In 2012, Wehmeyer was convicted of criminal sexual conduct and possessing child pornography in connection with Wehmeyer’s sexual abuse of two boys, ages 12 and 14, in a camper …
Curtis Wehmeyer kept his white 2006 camper parked outside Blessed Sacrament Church in St. Paul where he served for six years, three of them as pastor. With the shades drawn, Wehmeyer could avoid the obligations of priestly life. He got drunk, smoked pot and looked at child pornography. He also lured to the camper two boys whose mother worked at the parish, plied them with alcohol, turned on pornography and told them to touch themselves. Several times, he touched one of the boys, according to police records.The family trusted “Father Curt.” As a priest, he had special powers. He could anoint…