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A Minneapolis law firm has been secretly investigating the private life of 

 for the past six months.  Nienstedt acknowledged Tuesday that he had authorized an investigation into allegations made against him.

Clergy abuse, cover-up and crisis in the Twin Cities Catholic church

statement posted to the archdiocese's website

, Nienstedt said the allegations involve events "alleged to have occurred at least a decade ago," before his arrival in the Twin Cities. They do not involve minors, he said, nor lay members of the church, and "they do not implicate any kind of illegal or criminal behavior."


"These allegations," he said, "are absolutely and entirely false."

Jennifer Haselberger, a former chancery official, said she met with attorneys from the Greene Espel law firm several times at their Minneapolis office. Some of the meetings lasted hours. The lawyers — Matthew Forsgren and David Wallace-Jackson — told her at the time that they had interviewed more than a dozen priests and laypeople in several states and that 11 people provided sworn statements. The attorneys told her that Nienstedt had authorized the broad investigation into his own life in late January. 

Haselberger said Forsgren and Wallace-Jackson asked her about a wide range of topics. They appeared to be most interested in whether the archbishop had had any sexual contact with priests or other adults, she said.

The lawyers also asked Haselberger specifically about Nienstedt's interactions with 

now in prison for sexually abusing two children

 and possessing child pornography. Haselberger said she told them about a time when the archbishop had wanted to visit Wehmeyer after his arrest, but was advised against doing so by an archdiocesan lawyer.  

Forsgren and Wallace-Jackson specialize in internal investigations, white-collar criminal defense and business litigation, according to the firm's website. 

In his statement Tuesday, Nienstedt said he ordered Auxiliary Bishop Lee Piche to oversee an independent investigation. "It would be unfair to ignore these allegations simply because I know them to be false," Nientsedt said. "Since I would instruct the Archdiocese to investigate similar allegations made against any priest, I have ordered the Archdiocese to independently investigate the allegations made against me."

released his own statement on the archdiocese's website Tuesday

, confirming the charge Nienstedt put before him. 

"Several months ago, the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis received claims regarding alleged misbehavior involving Archbishop John Nienstedt," he said. "The claims did not involve anything criminal or with minors. The Archbishop asked me to investigate these claims, so I hired an independent firm to conduct a thorough investigation. The investigation is ongoing and I will respond appropriately as the process continues."

 from a priest that Nienstedt grabbed the buttocks of a boy at a group event in 2009. 

 at the request of the Ramsey County Attorney's Office.

Nienstedt, facing claim he touched boy, steps aside during investigation, denies allegation

Ramsey County will not file charges against Archbishop Nienstedt

St. Paul police to reopen two cases related to Archdiocese investigation


St. Paul police spokesman Howie Padilla confirmed that the police department knew of the private investigation. 

"During the course of us investigating other allegations, we became aware of it," Padilla said.

He declined to elaborate and referred all questions to the Ramsey County Attorney's Office.

A spokesman for the Ramsey County Attorney's Office confirmed that a lawyer for the archdiocese contacted Ramsey County Attorney John Choi on March 28 about an archdiocesan "investigation of Archbishop Nienstedt involving allegations of sexual conduct with an adult."


MPR News contacted the seven members of the Twin Cities archdiocese's Safe Environment and Ministerial Standards Task Force to see if they were aware of the investigation. The 

 to evaluate the archdiocese's policies and procedures for child safety. It 

.
 
Two members reached by phone, Kathleen Erickson DiGiorno and Brook Schaub, said they had no comment on the Nienstedt investigation.  DiGiorno, who chaired the task force, said she knew nothing of the investigation.

MPR News launched a series of investigative stories

 showing a cover-up of sexual abuse by priests that spanned three archbishops over decades. Since then, top church officials have resigned various positions, priests have been put on leave, the archdiocese 

suspended its $160 million capital campaign

, police began investigations and several lawsuits have been filed on behalf of alleged victims.

The news of the private investigation raises more questions about the scandal and the future leadership of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.  Nienstedt said in his statement that the apostolic nuncio, Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, who acts as a liaison to the Vatican and oversees all bishops in the United States, is aware of the allegations. "He will be informed of the results of the investigation when it is completed," Nienstedt said.

Still, questions loom. The archdiocese has not said how much the investigation has cost or how the archdiocese is paying for it.

Judge orders more questioning of ex-archdiocese official in sex abuse case

Abusive priest not closely monitored by archdiocese

Mendota priest resigns from parish after board review; deacon steps aside

Ex-archdiocesan official contradicts Nienstedt's sworn testimony over abuse claim

Video: Nienstedt admits archdiocese hid info on abusive priests

Crime, Law and Justice

Religion and Faith

Madeleine Baran

Author

A Minneapolis law firm has been secretly investigating the private life of Twin Cities Archbishop John Nienstedt for the past six months.  Nienstedt acknowledged that he authorized an investigation into allegations made against him.

Archbishop authorized secret investigation of himself

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