American Notes St. Paul

An arrest on charges of drunk driving would be embarrassing for any solid citizen, but for Roman Catholic Archbishop John Roach of St. Paul-Minneapolis, the experience was downright sobering. The churchman was picked up in February when his Chevrolet brushed against the side of a store. After a blood-alcohol test administered by police showed a reading of .19%, nearly double the .10% level that Minnesota law defines as intoxication, the archbishop was invited to spend the night in the county jail. Recalled Sheriff Dave Ninnemann: "He was a model prisoner."

After Roach pleaded guilty last week, a judge fined him $445 and sentenced him to 30 days in jail. With 28 of those days suspended, and ten hours credited for the night he spent in the Chicago jail, the cleric will be obliged to serve 38 more hours. In addition, the judge ordered Roach to enter an outpatient program for alcohol abuse. "I thank God that no one was hurt," the archbishop said after his sentencing last week. He called upon his | congregation to beware of the dangers of drinking and driving. Said he: "I take my role as a teacher very seriously."