The pastor of All Saints in Minneapolis was recalled from his assignment Nov. 8 by leaders of his community, the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter.
In a Nov. 15 statement, Archbishop Bernard Hebda said the recall of Father Gerard Saguto, FSSP, “was taken in response to an issue that had surfaced in trauma counseling undertaken voluntarily by Father Saguto and brought by him to the attention of his superiors. It was also taken in response to related concerns that Father Saguto had failed to observe the safe environment protocols of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis for interaction with minors (e.g. the requirement that adults not be alone with minors).”
The archdiocese’s Office of Ministerial Standards brought the information related to Father Saguto to law enforcement, and “law enforcement has advised us that they are not initiating a criminal investigation,” the archbishop said.
Given the recall of Father Saguto, Archbishop Hebda revoked his faculties, “meaning that he may not engage in any further priestly ministry within the archdiocese,” he said.
Father Saguto began serving as All Saints’ pastor in August 2018.
“In the event that a request were made in the future, the present restrictions on Father Saguto’s ministry could only be lifted after our normal review process, which would have to include a recommendation from the Ministerial Review Board of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis,” Archbishop Hebda added. “Please keep all those involved in this situation in your prayers.”
The archbishop’s statement was read at All Saints’ Masses the weekend of Nov. 9-10.
The Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter has served All Saints since 2013. The Fraternity is known for celebrating the Mass and sacraments in Latin in what is known as the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, following the liturgical books that were in place in 1962, prior to the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council.
