Priest accused of molesting girl and boy continued teaching sex education to children until he retired

Margashirsha Krushnapaksha 3, Kaliyug Varsha 5115

• Harry Walsh, 79, accused of molesting girl in Detroit in 60s and boy in 80s
• St. Paul/Minneapolis archdiocese contributed to settlement for girl in 1996
• His name was not on list of priests accused of abusing minors 2 weeks ago
• He denies claims, saying: 'If I were guilty I wouldn't be at home right now'
• He now teaches sex education to troubled teenagers and vulnerable adults
• Also accused of affair with married parishioner at a church in Monticello

When the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis released of a list of priests credibly accused of sexually abusing minors, victims' groups complained it was incomplete.

Harry Walsh wasn't on the list of 30 priests made public two weeks ago. But church documents obtained by Minnesota Public Radio show he had been accused in the 1990s of molesting a 15-year-old girl in Detroit in the mid-1960s and a 12-year-old altar boy in South St. Paul in the early 1980s.

The archdiocese contributed to a financial settlement for the girl in 1996. Nonetheless, two archbishops allowed him to continue working in parishes until the fall of 2011, MPR reported.

Archbishop John Nienstedt asked Pope Benedict last year to defrock Walsh after he learned of the abuse allegations from documents in church archives, as well as an old internal investigation that determined Walsh had an affair with a married parishioner at a church in Monticello. Walsh agreed to leave.

Walsh now teaches sex education to troubled teenagers and vulnerable adults in Wright County. He signed a two-year, $1,508-a-month contract this year, according to public records.

He told the station he never sexually abused children.'I'd have been shocked if I was on the list because there's nothing credible about it,' Walsh told MPR.

'If I were hiding that, you wouldn't be in my house right now; I would have been very careful.'

Walsh said he might have kissed the girl affectionately, but it wouldn't have been sexual. He denied the allegation about the boy, who reported it as an adult to the archdiocese in 1996, and said he had never heard of the accusation.

Archdiocese spokesman Jim Accurso failed to explain why Walsh wasn't on the public list of accused priests, nor would he say why Walsh was allowed to serve as a music minister at St. Henry's Catholic Church in Monticello until he retired from that post two years ago, MPR reported.

'These disclosures are intended to be ongoing,' the archdiocese said in a statement.

'We are currently engaged in a comprehensive review of clergy files and the list will be updated as additional announcements are made.'

Accurso did not immediately return a phone call from the Associated Press seeking comment on Thursday.

It could not be immediately determined if either instance of alleged abuse was ever reported to police.

South St. Paul and Detroit police officials said records were not immediately available, if they exist. MPR's report said there were no records of archdiocese officials notifying police about the allegations.

Jennifer Haselberger, a former top adviser to Nienstedt, said the church had a moral responsibility to disclose Walsh's alleged abuse, particularly because he now teaches children about sex.

No one told Wright County officials about the allegations, said Carol Schefers, the county's public health director, who signed Walsh's contract. She also said she didn't know what she would do with the information.

On Tuesday, Nienstedt said he has stepped aside from active ministry while police investigate an allegation that he touched a boy on the buttocks in 2009. The archbishop called the claim 'absolutely and entirely false.'

Source : Daily Mail UK