BATTLE CREEK, Mich. — Some members of a Michigan Catholic diocese have expressed concerns that a priest who led a Minnesota archdiocese during a clergy sex abuse scandal is helping out in a Battle Creek church.

John Nienstedt is celebrating masses at St. Philip while its pastor recovers from an illness.

Nienstedt resigned from the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis in June after charges were filed claiming the church failed to protect children from clergy sex abuse. Nienstedt has not been charged.

The Associated Press left a message Tuesday evening seeking comment from Nienstedt.

St. Philip parent Samantha Pearl said “the church is demonstrating that it is willing (to) protect those who have hurt children.”

“It’s hard to imagine them inviting this kind of scandal on themselves,” she said. “It defies reason that this is the choice they have made and that they continue (to) defend. It makes no sense.”

Kalamazoo diocese spokeswoman Victoria Cessna said the church has no knowledge of pending allegations against Nienstedt. She added the diocese uses “every process available to us to ensure that the Archbishop, as any visiting priest who is exercising priestly ministry, meets the requirements set forth for them to do so.”

The Minnesota archdiocese has been under fire since 2013, when a former church official went public with concerns about its handling of abuse cases. That same year, a state law opened a three-year window for victims of past sex abuse to file lawsuits. The archdiocese has declared bankruptcy and more than 400 victims have come forward.