Minnesota
The Vatican’s investigation into former Archbishop John Nienstedt is complete
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis says the Vatican’s investigation into former Archbishop John Nienstedt is complete.
Eight years ago, Nienstedt resigned from his position amid allegations of covering up crimes of a pedophile priest at the church.
Current Archbishop Bernard Hebda, who assumed the role in 2015, released a statement Friday. Hebda says a Vatican investigation looked into all of the allegations and did not support finding that Nienstedt had committed any crimes. The Holy See deemed the allegations unfounded.
Hebda says he was told of several instances of “imprudent” actions from Nienstedt that were brought to light. He says the instances “either standing alone or taken together” did not warrant any further investigation or penal sanctions.
However, Pope Francis determined that several administrative actions would be imposed. These include Nienstedt not practicing ministry or living in the Province of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, which includes all of Minnesota and the Dakotas.
Nienstedt will not be able to exercise ministry in any way outside of his diocese of residence “without the express authorization of the attendant Ordinary and only after the Dicastery for Bishops has been informed.”
“It’s just simply not enough,” said Mike McDonnell, executive director of SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests)
“The release of this information from the Vatican, it’s really a slap in the face to victims all over. It simply says that, you know, your pain really just doesn’t matter enough to us.”
In an exclusive interview with WCCO Friday, whistleblower Jennifer Haselberger called the lack of transparency “frustrating.”
“We have no information, no insight, no visibility into to anything. It’s really just a lot of broad statements,” she said . “Because it’s not an exoneration, either. And I think it leaves more questions than answers.”
One of those questions? What exactly were the “imprudent” actions, especially considering the severity of the claims against Nienstedt.
“If the results of a thorough investigation arethat he has done nothing wrong, then I would argue that he has the right for people to know that. So if that were the case, we’ve done a disservice to him,” she said, quickly adding “If, in fact, as it seems that some things have been substantiated, I would think that the people involved in making those accusations would like to know what was substantiated and what was considered to not be substantiated, and what were the standards?’
“Historically, this is what the Catholic Church has done in their playbook,” McDonnel said. “And that is to move them along, out of sight, out of mind, hope it goes away.”
Nienstedt said in a statement that he has “fully cooperated” with all investigations into allegations against him and answered every question honestly and to the best of his recollection. He said he has asked the Holy See to clarify the “imprudent” actions he allegedly committed.
“I will heed the direction given to me by the Holy Father, which I have been following for the past seven years,” Nienstedt said. “I am retired now so my ministry will continue to be limited. I am sorry for any pain experienced by anyone because of the allegations against me, and ask for your prayers for their healing.”
Haselberger is also thinking of the people impacted.
“People suffered one way or the other. The people that brought the accusations, whether it was imprudent behavior or if it was something that did fall into canonical crime, people were hurt. The church was hurt,” she said. “Let’s keep all of them in mind and look for more ways that we can improve our systems, put pressure on those in authority, and truly create the safe environment that we need.”
A rest area along Interstate 94 in Minnesota has been closed to trucks until about Independence Day to accommodate an almost $3 million improvement project.
The eastbound I-94 Enfield rest area between St. Cloud, Minnesota and the Twin Cities between Wright County Road 8 and Highway 25 is now closed to cars and commercial vehicles as crews resurface the entrance and exit ramps, and update nearby sidewalks.
According to KNSI, the full closure is just the first phase of the project. The rest area will reopen to passenger vehicles only the week of May 11th. During that time, the truck parking area will remain closed as crews repave the lot.
The truck parking lot will reopen the week of June 30th, right around Independence Day. During that time, the passenger vehicle area will be shut down to allow for the resurfacing of the lot. The Minnesota DOT expects the rest area to be fully open by late July. The entire project is expected to cost $2.9 million.
Drivers heading east on I-94 are encouraged to use the Big Spunk Lake rest area near Avon, or to drive a little farther out to the Elm Creek rest area.
Could a UCLA baseball team that’s perfect in Big Ten play get better?
Bruins coach John Savage thinks so, which is a frightening prospect for the rest of a seemingly overmatched conference.
While Savage’s top-ranked Bruins completed a three-game sweep of Minnesota on Sunday with a 5-2 victory at Jackie Robinson Stadium — stretching their Big Ten winning streak to 21 games — he said there’s more upside to be realized.
“Offensively, we just really couldn’t get a lot going,” Savage said after his team went 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position and stranded six baserunners. “We just weren’t able to put a lot together, but when that pitching and defense shows up every day, it gives yourself a chance to win, and that’s kind of what we did all three games, really.”
Those elements were so good Sunday that they overshadowed Roman Martin’s solo homer in the third inning and Will Gasparino’s two-run shot in the sixth.
Bruins left fielder Dean West made three superb catches — two leaping and one diving — and four relievers combined to give up only one run in 4 ⅔ innings. Closer Easton Hawk needed only six pitches to record a 1-2-3 ninth inning while notching his third save in as many days.
Savage credited Minnesota’s pitching after the Golden Gophers (22-17 overall, 5-13 Big Ten) held the Bruins (36-3) to an average of five runs during the series and said many of his team’s offensive struggles were situational.
“We have very, very good offensive players — some of them are in … little ruts right now, but that’s OK,” Savage said. “These guys play a lot and get a lot of at-bats; there’s a lot of ups and downs.”
When it comes to UCLA’s conference record, it’s all been up.
What it means
UCLA’s sweep is further evidence that the Bruins aren’t getting complacent because of their record.
“This culture is really solid, and these guys truly believe in one another and they’re playing for the team,” Savage said. “We’re very fortunate to have this group, and so they love playing together, so there’s no complacency and there’s no reason to because we haven’t done anything; I mean, you’re 36-3, that’s great, but at the end of the day it’s about getting better and playing your best baseball the next 75 days.”
Turning point
Spotting a dominant team an early lead is never a good idea.
That’s what happened when the Bruins struck for two runs in the bottom of the first inning.
West led off with a single to center field, took third on Roch Cholowsky’s double to left and scored on a balk. With one out, Martin hit an RBI infield single off the pitcher’s glove. UCLA was up 2-0, and the Golden Gophers could never catch up.
Did you see that?
Minnesota did not like it when Gasparino admired his home run by lingering in the batter’s box before commencing his trot around the bases.
There was consensus in both dugouts because Savage also didn’t care for it.
“I thought he probably stayed in the box a little too long for me,” Savage said. “That’s kind of not who we are, and they didn’t like that; I wouldn’t like that either, really.”
MVP
West saved multiple extra-base hits with his catches.
Which was his favorite?
“Probably the diving one,” West said. “I think that was the coolest one. I got to leave my feet and make a play on it.”
Up next
The Bruins will open a five-game stretch of nonconference games when they host Hawaii on Tuesday evening at Jackie Robinson Stadium.
Of the many terrible roster decisions Minnesota sports teams have made over the past 30 years, the worst of the bunch may have been trading Randy Moss to the Raiders for the No. 7 pick in the draft and linebacker Napoleon Harris.
Why are we bringing up a trade that happened 21 years ago? Because the New York Giants traded defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence to the Cincinnati Bengals for the No. 10 pick in this week’s NFL Draft. It was the first time a non-quarterback has been traded for a top-10 pick since the infamous Moss trade in 2005.
Minnesota traded Moss for the Raiders’ first-round pick, Harris, and a seventh-round pick on March 2, 2005. The Vikings used the No. 7 pick on wide receiver Troy Williamson, who never panned out in the NFL. He had 24 catches for 372 yards and two touchdowns as a rookie, 37 receptions for 457 yards and zero touchdowns in 2006, and just 18 catches for 240 yards and one touchdown in 2007.
Williams led the league with 11 dropped passes in 2006. Minnesota traded him to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a sixth-round pick after the 2007 season, where he played in 10 games over two seasons and totaled just eight catches for 64 yards. He was cut before the start of the 2010 season, and that was a wrap on the former South Carolina speedster’s NFL career.
Moss didn’t put up jaw-dropping numbers with the Raiders for two seasons, but he set an NFL record with 23 touchdown catches in 2007 with the New England Patriots. He caught 47 touchdowns in 48 regular-season games with the Patriots from 2007 to 2009.
Whether it was trading Moss to the Raiders, the Timberwolves sending Kevin Garnett to the Boston Celtics — or drafting Ricky Rubio AND Johnny Flynn over Steph Curry — or the Twins cutting David Ortiz and watching him become one of the greatest players in MLB history with the Boston Red Sox, Minnesota sports teams have a long history of making terrible decisions.
The Bengals, meanwhile, gave up the 10th overall pick for one of the best defensive tackles in the league. They’ll likely get great production from Lawrence, while the Giants are now under pressure to get the 10th pick right. New York also holds the No. 5 pick in Thursday’s first round of the draft.
By the way, the Vikings had two picks in the first round of the 2005 draft. After taking Williamson, they used the No. 18 pick on defensive end Erasmus James. He was just as much of a bust as Williams, playing in 23 games in three years with the Vikings. He had four sacks as a rookie, but injuries wiped out most of his 2006 and 2007 seasons before he was traded to Washington for a conditional seventh-round pick.
James was cut by Washington in December 2009, marking the end of his NFL career.
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