St. Paul archdiocese charged over handling of abuse claims

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St. Paul archdiocese charged over handling of abuse claims

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Criminal charges were filed Friday against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis for its handling of a priest who molested children, with a prosecutor saying church leaders “turned a blind eye” to problems with the priest.

Ramsey County prosecutors charged the archdiocese as a corporation with six gross misdemeanor counts alleging that it failed to protect children. No individual church leaders were charged.

The charges stem from the archdiocese’s handling of the Rev. Curtis Wehmeyer, a former priest at Church of the Blessed Sacrament in St. Paul who was eventually sent to prison for molesting two boys. Prosecutors say church leaders failed to respond to “numerous and repeated reports of troubling conduct” by Wehmeyer from the time he entered seminary until he was removed from the priesthood in 2015.
 
The more I hear about these neglects, the more my opinion of the bishops turns sour. I don’t care if those who make the accusations disagree with Church teaching on pelvic issues. With each accusation, it seems that the bishops care more about the infrastructure and the coffers, rather than the souls they have been called to shepherd.

Thankfully, in my own archdiocese (Kansas City, Kansas, NOT the one Bp. Finn used to run), there has been extensive auditing, ethics training, and accountability programs to prevent such problems.
 
I’m just wondering how much of this is really about justice for the children and how much of it could be an excuse for a liberal city to take swings at the Catholic Church for not towing the line on progressive social issues and/or to help someone’s career.

I also think it needs to be asked if this happened a mosque in Riverside Plaza or a Church that is frequented by Protestant minority if charges would be brought.
 
They don’t have enough evidence to p(name removed by moderator)oint any wrong doing by any individual, but they know the Diocese did it. How does a Diocese do anything without individuals acting on its behalf?

edit: And why, in this day and age, didn’t anyone with concerns report the priest to the police rather than just complain to the Church?
 
Here is the actual criminal complaint with details of the charges and supporting information.

The priest only got 5 years for abusing the 3 boys. That just doesn’t seem like its long enough.
 
The Diocese is presumed innocent until proven guilty. Let it prove it’s innocence in a court of law. Just like everyone else. I see no persecution here.
 
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Dawnia:
Here is the actual criminal complaint with details of the charges and supporting information.

The priest only got 5 years for abusing the 3 boys. That just doesn’t seem like its long enough.
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Liberal judges love light senetences for sex offenders. I have always wondered why; assume they don’t see it for the big deal it is.

Posted from Catholic.com App for Android
 
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simoncyreno:
The Diocese is presumed innocent until proven guilty. Let it prove it’s innocence in a court of law. Just like everyone else. I see no persecution here.
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If they have the presumption of innocence, they have nothing to prove. It is the prosecutors job to prove them guilty.

Posted from Catholic.com App for Android
 
Ophelia23 said:
The parish where this actually occurred–Blessed Sacrament-- is only a few blocks from where I live. I know these people personally. All I will say is, this whole situation was and is very, very sad. Pray for our archdiocese.
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I am so sorry to hear of such. I will definitely pray for your archdiocese. May Justice be served and the victims receive help and counseling.

Mary.
 
SuperLuigi said:
I’m just wondering how much of this is really about justice for the children and how much of it could be an excuse for a liberal city to take swings at the Catholic Church for not towing the line on progressive social issues and/or to help someone’s career.
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Seriously? You think this is just liberals going after the Church? Or some progressive DA"s plan for career advancement? I don’t think so. While there may be cases where the Church has been unfairly targeted, this particular nest of vipers needs to be cleaned out.
 
Dawnia said:
They don’t have enough evidence to p(name removed by moderator)oint any wrong doing by any individual, but they know the Diocese did it. How does a Diocese do anything without individuals acting on its behalf?

edit: And why, in this day and age, didn’t anyone with concerns report the priest to the police rather than just complain to the Church?
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Im assuming because of the separation between church and state, I would have probably made the same mistake if I had been in that situation, my first thought would be go to the church itself, plus I doubt the police even know how the CC 'hierarchy ’ is structured, so they may not know who to talk to.

I was wondering the same thing as another poster on here, whether this is just the powers that be, making a mountain out of a molehill, but I doubt we will ever hear the real truth on that one! The courts are just waiting to get the CC into the legal system LOL
 
WillyAL said:
Seriously? You think this is just liberals going after the Church? Or some progressive DA"s plan for career advancement? I don’t think so. While there may be cases where the Church has been unfairly targeted, this particular nest of vipers needs to be cleaned out.
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WhoSpecifically is it that needs to be cleaned out? Are they entitled the due process of the law ?

One problem is a selective prosecution. For instance your child is far more likely to be molested by their teacher than they are Catholic Priest . But you don’t see the diligence of going after teachers or the school board that you do you going after the Catholic Church. In Colorado they even tried to pass a law extending the statutes of limitation for child molestation but specifically exempted pretty much everyone but the Catholic Church . Then when Archbishop CHaput opposed the law because of its narrowness he was viciously attacked as trying to defend child molesters
 
mikekle said:
Im assuming because of the separation between church and state, I would have probably made the same mistake if I had been in that situation, my first thought would be go to the church itself, plus I doubt the police even know how the CC 'hierarchy ’ is structured, so they may not know who to talk to.

I was wondering the same thing as another poster on here, whether this is just the powers that be, making a mountain out of a molehill, but I doubt we will ever hear the real truth on that one! The courts are just waiting to get the CC into the legal system LOL
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The thing is, you see the same problem in other organizations. It was that way in the Sandusky case. Instead of reporting criminal behavior to the police, people report it to higher ups. It just doesn’t make sense to me.
 
Why didn’t they report it to the police? Probably because they thought they were being good Catholics and wanted to protect the Church and give the hierarchy an opportunity to clean up its own messes without public humiliation.

Those poor people learned what a bad idea that was.
 
WillyAL said:
Seriously? You think this is just liberals going after the Church? Or some progressive DA"s plan for career advancement? I don’t think so. While there may be cases where the Church has been unfairly targeted, this particular nest of vipers needs to be cleaned out.
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Yes, I think so. I also note that there are no “vipers”. No individual is charge with doing wrong. The prosecution is saying this is a brood of vipers but with no known snakes. So yes, I think this is stupid. Assuming the prosecutor is not an idiot, I suspect other motives.

Oh, and your little comment about this being a nest of vipers shows that you consider them guilty without trial. Not very American of you.
 
Book_Worm said:
Why didn’t they report it to the police? Probably because they thought they were being good Catholics and wanted to protect the Church and give the hierarchy an opportunity to clean up its own messes without public humiliation.

Those poor people learned what a bad idea that was.
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Who is “they”? I have no objection to filing charges against any priest who knew of something happening (outside of confession) and failed to notify authorities. That would be proper and more legit, as long as they also filed charges on the parents, police and everyone that knew of misconduct and failed to report it. Why are the parents of the victims not be charged as well? From what I can read, they had as much knowledge as anyone of the wrong doing.
 
Dawnia said:
The thing is, you see the same problem in other organizations. It was that way in the Sandusky case. Instead of reporting criminal behavior to the police, people report it to higher ups. It just doesn’t make sense to me.
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Absolutely. I just think the prosecutor should seek to justice against those with the more direct knowledge. Reporting laws in most state applies to those who actually have first hand knowledge, not those who hear unsubstantiated reports, also known as rumor. If they were to do that, it would have a far greater impact on really protecting children, which makes me question this prosecutor’s motive.

Everyone, not just Church administrators, need to stand as responsible reporters of misbehavior.
 
pnewton said:
Who is “they”? I have no objection to filing charges against any priest who knew of something happening (outside of confession) and failed to notify authorities. That would be proper and more legit, as long as they also filed charges on the parents, police and everyone that knew of misconduct and failed to report it. Why are the parents of the victims not be charged as well? From what I can read, they had as much knowledge as anyone of the wrong doing.
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Those in a position of responsibility and control over the offenders have a unique obligation, as compared to those who just know of some wrongdoing.
 
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