Vatican bars former Archbishop John Nienstedt from public ministry in Minnesota, Dakotas

Nearly nine years after Twin Cities Archbishop John Nienstedt resigned after allegations of a sex abuse coverup, the Holy See in Rome concluded its investigation and determined that he did not commit a crime under church law.

Even so, Pope Francis decided that because some of Nienstedt's conduct was "imprudent," the former archbishop cannot return to the church's province of St. Paul and Minneapolis (which includes all of Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota) to live or do church work.

The Catholic Church's governing body at the Vatican investigates reports of priest and clergy misconduct around the world and decides whether they are a "delict," or crime under canon law.

"Though the evidence available did not support a finding that any conduct on the part of Archbishop Nienstedt could be judged as a delict, it was communicated to me that several instances of 'imprudent' actions were brought to light," Archbishop Bernard Hebda, who took over for his predecessor in 2016, said in a statement Friday.

Hebda did not clarify what those "imprudent" actions were, but he said the Holy See determined they did not, either individually or as a whole, "warrant any further investigation or penal sanctions."

St. Paul-based lawyer Jeff Anderson, who represented clergy abuse victims in their case against the archdiocese, said he was "outraged" but not surprised by the Vatican's decision.

"For decades, they have systematically turned a blind eye and always continued to protect themselves. That is from the Vatican, to all the bishops and to the archbishops, so it comes as no surprise that they again cleared him of wrongdoing," he said. "The guy is not fit to minister. He belongs behind bars and not wearing a collar."

Nienstedt was archbishop in the Twin Cities during the clergy abuse scandal that began here in 2013, when new laws first allowed victims of abuse that happened years earlier to go to court. An estimated 500 people filed claims against priests in the archdiocese by 2016, and two years later the archdiocese settled with victims for $201 million.

"On behalf of all Minnesota members of SNAP who have endured abuse from clergy and staff employed by this diocese, I weep," said Frank Meuers, director of Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP) in Minnesota, about the Vatican's finding.

He said that the church's determination does not mean that allegations were unfounded. "There are a multitude of instances where a definable crime has not occurred, but plenty of harm has occurred," he said.

Starting in 2014, the archdiocese hired the law firm Greene Espel and later a private lawyer to investigate allegations of Nienstedt's sexual misconduct, but did not publicly release any of the documents. An internal church memo that was later released by Ramsey County showed a Vatican official shut down the Greene Espel investigation when it was pursuing 24 leads, including alleged sexual misconduct with priests, a seminarian and a Swiss guardsman in Rome.

One of those leads, according to the memo, was that Nienstedt had a "social relationship" with St. Paul priest Curtis Wehmeyer, who ended up pleading guilty to sexually abusing two boys and going to prison.

The St. Paul Police Department also investigated an allegation that Nienstedt inappropriately touched a juvenile male during a confirmation ceremony photo session at the Cathedral of St. Paul in 2009, according to a 2014 statement from Ramsey County Attorney John Choi. Charges were not brought due to "insufficient evidence," Choi said then.

In 2019, the archdiocese's clergy abuse ombudsman Tom Johnson, a former Hennepin County attorney, officially requested that the Vatican investigate Nienstedt, and said that the former archbishop had both failed to discipline Wehmeyer and misrepresented their relationship to county investigators.

Johnson also cited allegations of Nienstedt's own inappropriate conduct with adult men and, in an incident during World Youth Day in Germany, with boys. At that event, Nienstedt allegedly invited two boys to his hotel room to get in from the rain and took off his wet clothes in front of them, asking them to do so as well.

Nienstedt, who lives in Michigan, according to the archdiocese, has denied the allegations.

"I have asked the Holy See, through my canonical advocate, to clarify the 'imprudent' actions I allegedly committed while in Minnesota," he said in a statement Friday. "I will heed the direction given to me by the Holy Father, which I have been following for the past seven years. 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."

The pope's new determination also bars him from doing church work outside the diocese where he lives without getting special permission and informing Rome.

Star Tribune staff writer Louis Krauss contributed to this story.