Untouchable Hippie Priest In Deep With "Gay Subculture" Where Sexual Abuse Was Common

Edit: the following is part of an exchange where the heretical and disobedient pastor of St. Frances Cabrini church in Minneapolis insults his Archbishop and publishes their correspondence on his blog rather than address the liturgical abuses. Father Michael Tegeder has been reprimanded for having laymen give sermons before, invoking pagan gods or worshipping rocks, or lecturing the Archbishop on sexual abuse.

He'll probably keep his job.

We'll also recall that Tegeder hasn't held his alma mater, St. John's University and Abbey in Collegeville to the same standard  he holds Nienstedt.

When Tegeder was at St. John's, he was pretty familiar with the "gay subculture" there. Did he know about the sexual abuse that's been all too frequent there too? From the City Pages article:

He shares stories, stories beyond those bag boys, those fag-beaters. He talks about the gay subculture he saw when he was a student at St. John's, shared between teachers and students alike. [Many of whom were preying on their oftentimes minor students.] He mentions that one of those students had to move to New York to find some acceptance, only to be murdered in a Manhattan bar by another man looking to beat some fags. [Or maybe it was a drug deal gone bad?]

Did Tegeder cover for Deacon Joseph Damiani when the two worked together at St. Kateri's as presiders over a pagan "Indian" ceremony? Damiani is currently suspended by the Archdiocese, and the lawsuit he filed against his nephews and their countersuit were settled out of court.

Here's Tegeder's blog entry.  We're going to post it before it disappears. How does he get away with this?

September 21, 2014

DOING SOMETHING RIGHT Early in my ministry I had a wise pastor who said that if you do not occasionally get some flak you probably are not doing something right. I occasionally take some flak, not that this necessarily means I am doing something right, but sometimes, as Jesus said to the young man who responded from his heart, I may not be too far from the reign of God.

This came to mind with the following letter that I received from our local Ordinary:

Dear Father,

I am in receipt of a communication from a gentleman presently living in Texas, who was visiting his mother recently in Minneapolis and attended Mass at St. Francis [sic] Cabrini on the Feast of the Assumption with his son. He made the following observations:

1) The homily was provided by a lay person.

2) The content of the homily struck him as problematic. At one point the woman preacher said something to the effect that: "The centuries' old theological debates surrounding whether Mary was or was not assumed into heaven are not really important today."

3) The Eucharist was confected using leavened bread.

4) The sacred vessels used were stoneware.

He added, "Sadly these deviations were extremely distracting. Normally the moment before communion is a very peaceful time. However, I felt that my rights as a Catholic as well as those of my son, were being violated. Given my state of mind, I refrained from receiving Our Lord. I received a blessing from the presiding priest who gave the following blessing: "You are the Body of Christ." I'm not sure this is an appropriate blessing or what message it is meant to impart--especially as a blessing tied to the reception of the Eucharist."

As is my policy, I write to ask you to respond to these concerns that the writer raises, seemingly in good faith.

With every good wish, I remain…

Here is my response:

Dear Archbishop John

I was not the presiding priest nor was I present on the said occasion. However, I take full responsibility for it, something all church leaders should consider doing. By the way, your public condemnation of Father ______ ______'s "crimes" was a good example of not taking responsibility. Your violation of respect for due process owed Father _______ was stunning.

Regarding the actual communication I would have to say that things must be pretty good in Texas if this poor soul was "extremely distracted" by the things that he relates. I would have referred this troubled Texan to the wise advice of Pope Francis who calls the church to stop obsessing about "small minded rules."

But what is most amazing to me is that with the concerns in the Archdiocese these days you would take the time to relay such concerns from a complete stranger. What did Jesus say about the splinter in your brother's eye?

He and you seem so concerned about his so called rights as a Catholic being violated. I am more concerned about children being violated under your watch. You still owe us an explanation for your decisions involving Wehmeyer.

As it turns out, the Sunday after I received this letter, the gospel reading was about handling differences in the church. Jesus says first of all go to the person and work it out. He says nothing about first reporting back to the local ordinary. If the man wants to discuss his issues please give him my address.

I do have a concern over his state of mind as I do for yours. Indeed, I do not see how you can continue in your position. It cannot be good for you. Even Cardinal Burke has apparently seen the light and is moving on.

I will continue to pray for you.

shalom,

Link to Frances Cabrini blog...