Category Archives: Richard Sipe

Abbot Timothy Kelly and Others Deceived, Outright Lied

I debated writing anything for weeks, because of not wanting to join one “side” — what was always best about ISTI was the intention to include all voices — but having perused your website pretty thoroughly, I don’t find anything … Continue reading

Unspeakable Damage

Mickey Morey an Oregon lawyer who has litigated many priest sex abuse cases across the country introduced me to SAD TRIPS—an acronym that refers to long-term consequences of sexual abuse of minors. He does not remember who devised it and … Continue reading

Examining the Crisis: Scandal vs. crisis; PR vs. raw data

Ron Westrum, professor of sociology at Eastern Michigan University, suggests that organizations react in a series of stages to “anomalous reports.” They are: 1) suppression, 2) encapsulation, 3) public relations, 4) local fix, 5) global fix, and 6) investigation of … Continue reading

St. John’s Abbey Culture

For decades, a group of monks at St. John’s Abbey operated a sex abuse ring. Boys as young as 9 were victimized, as were teenage boys and girls. But most of the victims were novice monks – high school and … Continue reading

Credibly Accused of Sexual Misconduct

St. John’s Abbey Benedictine establishment at Collegeville, MN, the largest Benedictine monastery in the western world, adjacent to St. John’s University and St. John’s Preparatory School. At least 14 of the abbey’s nearly 200 monks have been credibly accused of … Continue reading

St. John’s Abbey Suffers Relapse

There simply was no “intensive internal investigation.” Interrogation of a frightened teenager is not investigation. I received the following from a principle who was on the scene in 1994: “How can you have an investigation without anyone talking to us? … Continue reading

Prior Accused of Misconduct

A Twin Cities-based lawyer is calling for a St. John’s Abbey monk to be removed from an external review board that examines clergy abuse because he says the monk was once involved with sexual misconduct.

Letter from Richard Sipe

This letter was written September 30, 2007 to Lee Hanley, a public relations person at St. John’s and an old friend. I had received numerous complaints about my alma mater from around the country. I wanted it to get to … Continue reading

Priest Quits Church to Expose Scandals

Irish Benedictine monk Patrick Wall thought his life was over when he quit the priesthood in disgust at the way he claims his bosses covered up sickening sex scandals.

‘Divorce’ from the Benedictines

SANTA ANA, Calif. — After 11 years as a monk, Patrick Wall was so disheartened by cases of sexual abuse, he renounced his vows and left the abbey. now, he works investigating abusive priests

From Monk to Sex Plaintiffs’ Advocate

As a Benedictine monk, Patrick Wall gained the reputation as a fix-it priest for the Catholic Church. His first four assignments wearing a Roman collar: straightening out parishes tainted by molestation and financial scandal.

Letter to the Editor – Correction Notice

* There was a misstatement in the article on St. John’s in Collegeville, Minn. (NCR, Dec. 13). I served as the first chair of the board of St. John’s Interfaith Sexual Trauma Institute in 1994-96. I did feel that the … Continue reading

Scandal at the Abbey – Part 1

Its reputation for learning and liturgy, publishing and holiness, ecumenism and even bread-making are legendary and have grown over its 146-year existence, making St. John’s Abbey here — with its impressive abbey church and signature bell tower — a jewel … Continue reading

Decades Of Abuse And Secrecy At St. John’s Abbey

As allegations of sex abuse and coverup in the Catholic Church shook the nation this year, St. John’s Abbey in Collegeville, Minn., confronted its own dark past. Former students came forward, some for the first time, to talk about what … Continue reading

Orders have let abusers remain

Abbot John Klassen has been praised for disclosing some monks’ misdeeds and criticized for allowing some to travel.

Lawsuit Widens Claims of Abuse

Declaring themselves victims of sexual abuse and claiming that St. John’s Abbey has covered up such abuse for decades, two former prep school students on Thursday sued the abbey and two priests already living under restrictions because of sexual misconduct.

Restricted Priests Still Travel

Restrictions on the movements of nine St. John’s Abbey priests accused of sexual abuse have not kept at least four of them from traveling to Rome, the abbey’s missions in the Bahamas and Japan, or elsewhere in Minnesota and other … Continue reading

Abbey could offer guidance amid scandal

In an idyllic campus setting 80 miles from the Twin Cities, the world’s largest Benedictine abbey houses a university, prep school, monastery _ and more than a dozen monks under restrictions for life for sexually abusing adolescents or young adults.

Father Roman Appointed, ISTI Named

With the announcement of its official name, the Interfaith Sexual Trauma Institute (ISTI), and the naming of its executive director, Father Roman Paur, the board of directors of the institute began its 3 May planning meeting.

The Sins of the Fathers

Fittingly, the theme of sin and contrition runs through both accounts of the molestation. First, listen to the victim. Later will come the response of the priest she appealed to for help.