Drunk Driving Arrest Curbs Archbishop

Archbishop John Roach’s driver’s license has been revoked for 90 days following his arrest on a drunken driving charge, authorities said today.

Roach, 63, who heads the St. Paul-Minneapolis Archdiocese, was issued a temporary license Thursday which permits him to “drive as needed to perform duties as clergy in the diocese between Tuesday and Sunday.” It also allows him to drive to and from court-imposed alcohol education programs.

Roach was arrested Feb. 21 after his car allegedly brushed the wall of a grocery store in a small town 30 miles north of St. Paul, according to court records.

His first court date is scheduled for March 12, and he has not entered a plea, court officials said.

The archbishop, former president of the National Catholic Conference of Bishops, publicly expressed his regret and has received an outpouring of support, the archdiocese newspaper, the Catholic Bulletin, reported Thursday.

Roach was “humbled and overwhelmed by the personal expressions of support he has received by mail and through phone calls,” said Joan Bernet, communications director for the archdiocese.

According to court records, a breath test taken after Roach’s arrest showed he had a concentration of 0.19% alcohol in his blood, or nearly double the 0.10% regarded as legally intoxicated.