A Catholic songwriter based in Minnesota is being investigated for sexual abuse. In light of the investigation, the Los Angeles archdiocese has asked archdiocesan members to not use his music in their worship services. He will also no longer be allowed to perform in the Los Angeles archdiocese while the investigation is underway. According to the archdiocese, this is an effort to show respect to potential victims of the songwriter’s sexual misconduct. 

The songwriter in question is David Haas, who wrote popular religious songs like “You Are Mine,” “Blest Are They,” and “We Are Called.” Life Site News reports that the songwriter has been accused by several women of sexual grooming and abuse. Allegedly, Haas used his position of authority within the Catholic Church and the Catholic music scene to carry out misconduct.

According to Life Site News, Haas has been accused of using grooming techniques to “create conditions in which women felt obliged to perform sexual favors in exchange for professional opportunities.” Allegedly, he would target women who had suffered past abuse, and would ostensibly offer them spiritual understanding and support.

The women say that he “uses the vulnerabilities created by trauma to create intimacy,” and then sexually exploits spiritual intimacy. These accounts were published by Into Account, a Christian sexual and spiritual abuse support group. 

The Los Angeles archdiocese is not conducting an investigation into sexual misconduct allegation against Haas. The allegations were brought forward in June 2020. According to the Los Angeles Archdiocese Office of Victims Assistance Ministry, these were the first misconduct allegations against Haas and a part of the larger Roman Catholic Church sexual abuse scandal.

However, adult women have previously claimed that Haas interacted inappropriately with them. Intro Account also spoke to what they see as a “pattern that emerges from the reports of Haas’s behavior.” The organization asserts that he repeatedly abused the “professional and spiritual power” he held in the Catholic music world.

Into Account has sent a letter to Catholic organizations on behalf of allegedly affected victims, stating that their goal is to deny Haas access to spaces in which he “encounters potential victims.” The organization reportedly sent the note to those organizations thought to be at particular risk for being a platform for the songwriter, notes the text of the letter.

This request by the Los Angeles Diocese for diocesan members to not play Haas’s music comes after the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis also limited their relationships with the songwriter, which included declining to provide a requested letter of recommendation and requiring him to disclose the complaints of sexual misconduct to provide services to organizations in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis.

According to Life Site News, the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis declined to provide a

letter of recommendation in 2018. After they were told by another diocese that David Haas had acted inappropriately and had made two women feel uncomfortable as a result. In 1987, Haas reportedly had also made “unwanted sexual advances toward a young adult woman.” The Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis notes that Haas has denied wrongdoing in all alleged instances.

The Diocese of Jefferson City, Missouri, has implemented a moratorium on using Haas’s music throughout the diocese, even if the music is already printed in an organization’s hymnal or other musical material.

GIA Publications, a major publisher of sacred music, music educational material, and hymnals has also withdrawn from its relationship with Haas. Reportedly, the publishing company suspended its publishing and sponsorship relationship with the songwriter. 

Another publishers of Catholic hymnals, OCP, is also suspending their relationship with haas in light of the allegations. The origination states that it is “profoundly disturbed” by the complaints against Haas.

This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.