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Priest named in multiple abuse complaints was appointed to Minneapolis marriage tribunal in 1990s

July 11, 2014

A priest in the Minneapolis-St. Paul archdiocese who had been accused multiple times of sexual misconduct was placed on the archdiocesan marriage tribunal in the 1990s, newly released documents show.

Father Joseph Wajda had been moved through 8 different parish assignments before he was placed on the marriage tribunal. Father Kevin McDonough, the vicar general of the archdiocese at that time, questioned whether the appointment could bring adverse publicity and “unnecessarily put the work of the tribunal in an unwelcome light and perhaps even bring more unwelcome attention to [Father Wajda].”

 


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  • Posted by: jg23753479 - Jul. 16, 2014 9:44 AM ET USA

    There seem to be a lot more problems and more important ones in Minneapolis than a simple misnomer or two. See this morning's New York Times.

  • Posted by: polish.pinecone4371 - Jul. 12, 2014 12:47 AM ET USA

    Um, that headline and the story need a bit of work. It's not the "Minneapolis marriage tribunal" or the "Minneapolis-St. Paul archdiocese." There are no such things. It's the Metropolitan Tribunal of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. Notice which name comes first -- St. Paul. The Diocese of St. Paul was erected in 1850. The name of Minneapolis was not added until 106 years later. So if you must abbreviate, please refer to St. Paul. Thanks. And yes, it's a sore point.