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- Rev. Ian Dommer Removed from Prep School
- Regarding Michelle Soldo Consulting / Backous
- MPR: Betrayed By Silence
- St. John's abbot reacts to abuse response criticism
- Monk Perpetrator Has Secret Identity… To Sell Online
- Message from Abbot John Klassen
- Opinion: DELIVERANCE (Duluth)
- 1969: "The New Direction" at Saint Scholastica (Duluth)
- 1969: St. Scholastica and Sexual Abuse (Duluth)
- 1971: Juvenile Court Used for Adult (Duluth)
- Priest on leave from Essentia, St. Michael's parish after allegations aired
- Backous on Failure
- Ex-Hastings priest living in Anoka County named in abuse suit
- Minnetonka priest’s tenant is ex-priest who abused teen
- Releasing names of priests accused of abuse will not end pressure on church
- Clergy Misconduct Lawsuit Targets St. John's Abbey (Video)
- Family accuses Ex-St. John's Prep headmaster of abuse
- Letter to Catholic Church officials calls for Father Timothy Backous' removal from ministry
- Abbot John Klassen defends former St. John's headmaster accused of abuse
- Clergy abuse allegation surfaces against ex-St. John's Prep headmaster
- St. John's Abbey responds to lawsuit announcement
- Former St. John's Abbey monk accused of abusing boy
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Protected: Rev. Ian Dommer Removed from Prep School
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Regarding Michelle Soldo Consulting / Backous
On Monday, I learned that Michelle Soldo, an attorney from St. Paul, Minnesota, is conducting an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct by Father Timothy Backous. After viewing a draft of this post earlier today Ms. Soldo wrote, in part, that … Continue reading
MPR: Betrayed By Silence
[Webmaster's Note: At least eight monks from St. John's Abbey have ties to the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. Like the leadership at the abbey, the leadership at the archdiocese knew and covered up abuse for decades.] (MPR) For … Continue reading
St. John’s abbot reacts to abuse response criticism
(SC Times) COLLEGEVILLE – St. John’s Abbey Abbot John Klassen this week defended his response to clergy sex abuse allegations, issuing a statement that says the abbey strives for transparency and the truth, even when allegations against a monk are … Continue reading
Monk Perpetrator Has Secret Identity… To Sell Online
What message does it send when one of Saint John’s Abbey’s most notorious sex offenders (including alleged acts of sodomy) takes on a new, secret, identity in order to sell flower cards in the abbey’s online store?
Message from Abbot John Klassen
Dear SJP Community, Recent news stories about clergy misconduct, and especially those involving monks from Saint John’s Abbey, have prompted questions and concerns from many of the people who care most deeply about Saint John’s Abbey, Saint John’s Prep and … Continue reading
1969: St. Scholastica and Sexual Abuse (Duluth)
[Webmaster's Note: Benedictine Brother David Hemmerling was the founder and director of the New Direction program from approximately 1966 until 1993. During that time, the program was primarily associated with the College of Saint Scholastica (Duluth, MN), Saint Vincent College … Continue reading
1971: Juvenile Court Used for Adult (Duluth)
Hemmerling was charged with inducing a scholarship recipient to come to Duluth, where, court records show, Hemmerling “did practice sodomy” on the youth … [County Attorney Keith] Brownell confirmed the negotiations were largely to avoid publicity on the case, juvenile records … Continue reading
1969: “The New Direction” at Saint Scholastica (Duluth)
Recently inaugurated in Duluth was a youth program entitled “The New Direction.” The social and recreational group with no religious or organizational affiliations, The New Direction is composed of high school students and their adult advisors, a number of whom … Continue reading
Opinion: DELIVERANCE (Duluth)
The Diocese of Duluth, for its part, produced a letter of recommendation from the Abbot John Klassen, whose flip-flops and vacillations have become legendary. Any eight-year old could tell the Diocese was dissembling and passing-the-buck. Throughout my lifetime any ordinary … Continue reading
Priest on leave from Essentia, St. Michael’s parish after allegations aired
(Duluth News Tribune) A Benedictine priest has been placed on administrative leave from Essentia Health and has been asked to discontinue assisting at St. Michael’s parish in Duluth after allegations resurfaced that he sexually molested a boy during a choir … Continue reading
Essentia Health Statement re Backous
STATEMENT FROM ESSENTIA HEALTH Following renewed accusations of misconduct alleged to have occurred over 20 years ago, Fr. Tim Backous offered to take leave from his current role as VP, Mission Integration and Benedictine Sponsorship for Essentia Health.
Abbot John Klassen defends former St. John’s headmaster accused of abuse
(Fox 9) Abbot John Klassen, of St. John’s Abbey, described the sexual abuse allegations leveled against a former St. John’s Prep School headmaster “unsubstantiated” as he defended the integrity of Rev. Timothy Backous — and the victim’s family says that’s … Continue reading
Archdiocese Statement Regarding Backous
STATEMENT OF BISHOP ANDREW COZZENS REGARDING FATHER TIMOTHY BACKOUS, O.S.B. June 11, 2014
Clergy abuse allegation surfaces against ex-St. John’s Prep headmaster
(MPR) A former member of a central Minnesota boys’ choir says a priest at St. John’s Abbey in Collegeville abused him while on a trip to Europe more than two decades ago.
Letter to Catholic Church officials calls for Father Timothy Backous’ removal from ministry
(City Pages) In March, two top Catholic Church officials in Minnesota sat down with the editorial board of the St. Cloud Times to discuss the ongoing clergy sex abuse scandal. Bishop Donald Kettler of the St. Cloud Diocese and Abbot … Continue reading
Backous on Remorse
Are we to understand that saying we’re sorry is appropriate only because it’s the correct legal or political posture? Can’t genuine human sorrow and embarrassment be seen as a strength?
Backous on Failure
But now, just a short time later, we are left to face our failure from a startling new perspective: we must must accept it as our own. We have no one to hide behind, no one to blame, no one … Continue reading
Family accuses Ex-St. John’s Prep headmaster of abuse
(SC Times) St. John’s Abbey Abbot John Klassen on Tuesday called allegations of inappropriate sexual contact by a former St. John’s Prep School headmaster against a former member of the St. John’s Boys’ Choir unsubstantiated and defended his integrity and … Continue reading
Backous Background/Timeline
Father Timothy “Timo” Backous, OSB Unofficial DRAFT Background View as a PDF… Here