American author and composer
David Robert Haas (born 1957 in Bridgeport, Michigan) is an American author and composer of contemporary Catholic liturgical music. In 2020, dozens of women accused him of sexual misconduct spanning several decades, and he issued a public apology for harmful behavior. As a consequence leaders in diverse Church traditions have requested local communities to remove hymns composed by Haas from use. His hymns have been removed from subscription services and from recent editions of major hymnal collections.
Education and career.
Haas graduated from Bridgeport High School in 1975. He studied vocal music performance at Central Michigan University from 1975–1977. From 1977–1978, Haas served in parish and school communities in the Diocese of Saginaw. From 1978–1980, Haas was a seminarian for the Diocese of Saginaw, studying at Saint John Vianney College Seminary and the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. From 1980–1981, Haas served as a pastoral musician at Church of the Blessed Sacrament in St. Paul, Minnesota. From 1981–1982, Haas was the Director of Music and Youth Ministry at Our Lady's Immaculate Heart Church in Ankeny, Iowa. From 1982–1985, Haas was Director of Music/Liturgy at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in St. Paul Park, MN. From 1985–1988, Haas was Composer-in-Residence/Adjunct Instructor at Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity in St. Paul, Minnesota. In 1991, Haas completed his B.A. in Theology and Vocal Music Performance from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. From 1991–1994, Haas served as Composer-in-Residence / Pastoral Musician at St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota. From 1992–2020, Haas served as Director of The Emmaus Center for Music, Prayer and Ministry in his hometown of Eagan, Minnesota. From 1997–2011, Haas worked at the preparatory school Benilde-St. Margaret's in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, where he was Campus Minister and Artist-in-Residence. From 2011–2015, Haas served as Campus Minister at Cretin-Derham Hall High School in St. Paul, Minnesota.
He has produced over 45 original collections and recordings of liturgical music and is the author of several books on the topics of prayer and liturgical music. His music has been published in the hymnals of GIA Publications, Oregon Catholic Press, Liturgical Press, World Library Publications, Augsburg Fortress, The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, The Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference, Celebrating Grace, Disciples of Christ, The Anglican Church of Canada, and others. Among his most widely known hymns are "Blest Are They", "We Are Called", and "You Are Mine". Haas has collaborated on recordings, concerts and workshops with Michael Joncas, Marty Haugen, Jeanne Cotter, Lori True, and others.
From 1999 to 2017, Haas directed the program Music Ministry Alive!, a five-day liturgical program for youth and adult leaders that met on the campus of St. Catherine University in St. Paul, Minnesota. From 1985–1996, Haas served as a Faculty/Team Member for Institutes with the North American Forum on the Catechumenate, helping develop liturgical and musical aspects of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA). From 1986–2020, Haas presented at the annual Los Angeles Religious Education Congress. Haas is a member of St. Cecilia's Parish in St. Paul, where he has volunteered as a cantor.
Personal life.
Haas married fellow composer Jeanne Cotter in October 1988, after the relationship started when Cotter was 16 and Haas 23. Haas and Cotter divorced in March 1995, and the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis granted an annulment.
Allegations of sexual misconduct.
On May 29, 2020, advocacy group Into Account sent a letter to Catholic organizations, accusing Haas of sexual misconduct with "nearly a dozen" victims. This was subsequently reported by the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests and Catholic News Agency. Following publication of the letter, an additional 14 women approached Into Account with allegations of sexual misconduct by Haas. Initially, he denied the allegations and denounced them as "false, reckless and offensive". Then, on July 9, 2020, Haas issued an apology on his website, announcing that he was beginning "professional intervention and treatment" and saying: "I have come to realize that I have caused great harm to a variety of people. I make no excuses for any harm that I may have caused. I take responsibility for my behavior and I am truly sorry." On October 1, 2020, Into Account released a report detailing 44 allegations of Haas's sexual misconduct spanning 41 years. The report alleges that from 1979 to 1982 Haas "targeted girls from 13–17 for rape, forced oral sex" and "false romantic and sexual relationships" and that from 1981 to 2019 Haas targeted "girls 14–17 for grooming" and "false mentorship bonds" and targeted "young adults and women 18–60 for grooming and forced sexual acts." Jeanne Cotter, who had been married to Haas, contributes to the report as a survivor, offering testimony (on p2) of her revulsion as a 16 year old to Haas's first assault on her. Highlighting the marked changed in Haas's modus from 1981, Cotter documents (on p5) Haas's connections around that time with serial clerical abuser, Catholic priest Robert Deland, speculating if Deland may have mentored Haas on grooming and techniques to ensure impunity in abuse. A lawsuit further alleged that his Music Ministry Alive program shielded a suspended priest who had been credibly accused of child sexual abuse and prohibited from contact with minors.