I have been wanting to write a letter to both SJU and CSB to let them know how I feel; that I intend to withhold any donations; that I will never intend to send my children there, and that I plan to share this information and my thoughts on the matter with the people I know and love so that they are aware of what is going on there until and unless they take real action to rectify this situation.

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Since the “Meet the Monks” section [ View ] was launched in May, the 721 monk profiles have been viewed a total of 64,478 times.

The most “popular” monks in June and July:

1. Fr. Francisco Schulte (1479 Views)
2. Fr. Thomas Gillespie (1468)
3. Fr. Tom Andert (1367)

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There are several stories here:

1. In 2002, two former St. John’s Prep School students brought claims of sexual abuse against Br. Phillips. Br. Phillips allegedly fondled both of these victims, and sodomized one of the victims with his thumb. St. John’s Abbey settled these two claims of sexual abuse (and possibly several others) against Br. Phillips.

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Since 1961, St. Joseph Parish in St. Joseph, MN has been home to some of St. John’s Abbey’s most notorious perpetrators of abuse and misconduct. In addition to sending pedophiles and other deviants to the parish, the past two Abbots (Timothy Kelly and John Klassen) have misled the St. Joseph congregation on matters of abuse in their parish.

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At St. John’s Abbey in Collegeville, several members of the Order of St. Benedict live under restrictions imposed by Abbot John Klassen. Some members faced with the possibility of restrictions have taken leaves from the order to consider whether they wish to remain members of the order. Klassen said in 2002 that as many as 15 monks or priests were on restriction at the abbey, including former Abbot John Eidenschink. Klassen last month declined an interview request from the Times to discuss the current state of the abbey and the monks on restriction.

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As a young boy growing up in St. Joseph, Minnesota and later, an an employee at St. John’s University and tutor at St. John’s Prep School, Daniel A Rassier had contact with several monks from St. John’s Abbey in Collegeville, Minnesota.

Pedophile priests Fr. Cosmas Dahlheimer [ More ], Fr. Brennan Maiers [ More ] and Fr. Tom Gillespie [ More ] all worked at the church in St. Joseph. Colleagues of Dan Rassier, including Fr. Bruce Wollmering, Fr. Michael Bik, Fr. Tom Andert and others [ More ] have also been accused of misconduct.

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“We use the word “community” quite a bit in places like ours but forget its most elemental meaning – caring for each other.” – Blog Entry by Fr. Tim Backous, September 2, 2009

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Since the new “Meet the Monks” section [ Go There ] was launched earlier this month, visitors have viewed the 720 monk profiles a total of 21,563 times.

The most “popular” monks:

1. Br. Isaac Connolly (528 Views)
2. Fr. Michael Bik (476 Views)

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(Fox 9) ST. PAUL, Minn. – A man who says he was sexually abused by an instructor at St. John’s Preparatory School in Collegeville is filing a Ramsey County lawsuit against the school, the religious order of monks that runs it, and his alleged abuser.
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According to multiple sources, St. John’s Abbey’s offending monks:

- Br. Jim Phillips < - Sodomy; At least two victims
- Br. Andre Bennett <- Died 2007
- Fr. Cosmas Dahlheimer <- Died 2002
- Fr. Richard Eckroth
- Fr. John Eidenschink <- Died 2004
- Fr. Thomas Gillespie
- Fr. Brennan Maiers
- Fr. Finian McDonald
- Fr. Dunstan Moorse <- At least nine victims
- Fr. Allen Tarlton
- Br. Isaac Connelly
- Fr. Michael Bik
- Fr. Bruce Wollmering <- Died 2009
- Fr. Robert Blumeyer <- Died 1983
- Br. John Kelly <- In Twin Cities
- Fr. Francis Hoefgen <- In Twin Cities
- Fr. Francisco Schulte <- Fled to Rome in 1987 following abuse allegations. Taken off of restriction by Abbot John Klassen in 2003.
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A second civil lawsuit has been filed in Stearns County Court against the Benedictine Order at St. John’s Abbey in St. Cloud. It accuses members of the order of covering up the alleged sexual abuse of a teenage boy in the 1980s. The late Rev. Bruce Wollmering, the Rev. Finnian McDonald and Brother John Kelly are named in the suit. The alleged victim’s lawyer, Patrick Noaker, said his client now lives on the West Coast.
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The second lawsuit in two weeks was filed Wednesday against St. John’s Abbey.
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In separate instances, over three years, three Benedictine clerics at St. John’s Abbey and university sexually abused a teenaged student, according to a new civil lawsuit filed today.
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For the second time in eight days, a lawsuit was filed against the Benedictine Order at St. John’s Abbey accusing it of covering up the sexual abuse of a student at St. John’s University 25 years ago.
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The second lawsuit in two weeks was filed Wednesday against St. John’s Abbey. The lawsuit accuses the abbey of fraud and contends that three monks either solicited or engaged in sexual misconduct with a former St. John’s University student.
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COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – What some might call a disturbing lawsuit was filed in Stearns County Tuesday alleging the cover-up of nearly 25 years of sex crimes committed by 11 Benedictine monks at St. John’s Abbey.
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A lawsuit filed in St. Cloud Tuesday accuses the Benedictine Order of covering up sex-abuse allegations that were made against 11 clerics working at St. John’s University in Collegeville in the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s.
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A former St. John’s Prep School student sued the school and St. John’s Abbey on Tuesday, alleging fraud for allowing a monk to continue interacting with students after they received an allegation of sexual misconduct against the monk.
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A former St. John’s Prep School student sued the school and St. John’s Abbey on Tuesday, alleging fraud for allowing a monk to continue interacting with students after they received an allegation of sexual misconduct against the monk.
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Saint John’s learned earlier today of a possible lawsuit, which we plan to carefully review. We anticipate there may be news coverage of this tonight and tomorrow.

The individual named in the lawsuit was the subject of a press release by the abbey in July of 2006. [ View ]
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Attorneys for a man claiming he was sexually abused by clergy at St. John’s in Collegeville have filed a lawsuit, alleging a massive cover-up that spans more than 25 years.
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St. Cloud, Minn. — A Minnesota man Tuesday sued the Order of St. Benedict at St. John’s Abbey in Collegeville over alleged sexual abuse.

Jeremiah McCarthy says he was a sophomore in 1971 at St. John’s Prep when Father Bruce Wollmering sexually abused him during a counseling session. Wollmering was a counselor at St. John’s Prep during the 1970s. He died earlier this year.
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There will be a press conference at 1pm on Tuesday, December 8, 2009 at the courthouse in St. Cloud regarding St. John’s Abbey and Father Bruce Wollmering.

More details available soon. Here

Today (November 10, 2009) marks the seven year anniversary of Joshua Guimond’s disappearance from the St. John’s University campus in Collegeville, Minnesota.
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Press Release [ View as PDF ]

October 29, 2009 Press Release – “Justice for Josh” March

* Joshua Guimond disappeared while at St. John’s University in Collegeville, MN in 2002.
* November 7, 2009 is the inaugural “Justice for Josh” march and will take place at noon.
* St. John’s recently denied a request by the Guimond family to mark the anniversary with an on-campus walk to raise awareness, claiming such an event “would not be productive”.
* The seven year anniversary of Joshua’s disappearance is November 10th.
* Supporters will meet near St. John’s University at noon, followed by a march at the Stearns County Sheriff’s office at 2pm.
* Several facts and new information regarding Joshua’s disappearance will be made public during the event.
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