Orders have let abusers remain

Posted on August 8, 2002
Posted in Allen Tarlton, CMSM, David Clohessy, Fran Hoefgen, John Eidenschink, John Klassen, Monk Travel, Richard Sipe, William Skudlarek

Abbot John Klassen has been praised for disclosing some monks’ misdeeds and criticized for allowing some to travel.
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Criminal prosecution of priests considered

Posted on July 13, 2002
Posted in Allen Tarlton, Dunstan Moorse, Jeff Anderson, Jim Kostreba, William Skudlarek

The Stearns County Sheriff’s Office is investigating three cases of alleged sex abuse by priests for possible criminal prosecution, said Sheriff Jim Kostreba. He declined to provide details about the cases but said recently that the investigations began several weeks ago and that some are related, at least in part, to a recent lawsuit filed against priests.
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As priest abusers become public, a parish looks at its past

Posted on July 11, 2002
Posted in Bishop John Kinney, Brennan Maiers, BS, Cosmas Dahlheimer, John Klassen, Thomas Gillespie, William Skudlarek

Catholics around the country learned new things about their communities when clergy sex abuse cases received fresh attention this spring. One small parish in central Minnesota discovered that in one 30-year span, three of its clergy turned out to have records of sexual abuse. All three had come to them from nearby St. John’s Abbey. Today the men live at the abbey, where they are stripped of their priestly duties and restricted in their daily routines. No new victims of sexual abuse have come forward in St. Joseph, but the case raises new questions about the safety of parish children during those years.
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St. John’s removes 2 monks from posts

Posted on July 10, 2002
Posted in Allen Tarlton, Fran Hoefgen, John Klassen

Abbot John Klassen has removed the Rev. Fran Hoefgen as guest master of the St. John’s Abbey guest house and the Rev. Allen Tarlton as director of its Oblate program before a threatened protest this weekend by victims of clergy sex abuse.

Jul 10, 02 – St. Cloud Times

2 abbey priests leave jobs that involved the public

Posted on July 10, 2002
Posted in Allen Tarlton, BS, Fran Hoefgen, John Klassen, Pat Marker, William Skudlarek

Two St. John’s Abbey priests on restriction for sexual misconduct have stepped down from abbey jobs in which they interacted with the public, an abbey official confirmed Tuesday.
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Abbot removes two monks from positions at abbey

Posted on July 10, 2002
Posted in Allen Tarlton, Fran Hoefgen, John Klassen, William Skudlarek

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Two monks living under restrictions at St. John’s Abbey for alleged sexual misconduct have been relieved of their duties at the abbey by Abbot John Klassen.
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Saint John’s Abbey Announces New Appointments

Posted on July 8, 2002
Posted in Allen Tarlton, Fran Hoefgen, John Klassen, Landelin Robling, Michael Kwatera

July 8, 2002 — Abbot John Klassen, OSB has appointed Landelin Robling, OSB to serve as Abbey Guestmaster, and Michael Kwatera, OSB to serve as Acting Director of Oblates. The monks who formerly served in those positions, Fran Hoefgen, OSB and Allen Tarlton, OSB, have been reassigned to work within the monastery.

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Fr. Gordon Tavis Addresses Abuse Scandal; Misleads Community

Posted on June 29, 2002
Posted in Gordon Tavis, John Klassen

Did we get hurt?  Absolutely Saint John’s Prep got hurt.  And it may take years to find out just how badly we were hurt.  As I say that, I’m not just talking about the institution.  Every Alum of all ages, classmates of the victims, every person associated with Saint John’s has been touched by the embarrassment, pain, anguish, and anger.  I can only guess at how much Alums and others feel disillusioned, betrayed, robbed of a piece of their heritage.  Yes, indeed, the school and each one of us has been hurt.

To bandage our immediate wound, following the lead of Abbot John Klassen, we have truthfully communicated to students, parents, Alums, admitting what happened.

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Letter to the editor: Still fond of the abbey

Posted on June 23, 2002
Posted in ToDo

It is a sad realization for me to learn that 13 monks of St. John’s Abbey have been guilty of sexual abuse of one kind or another.

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Sex abuse suit filed against St. John’s monks

Posted on June 21, 2002
Posted in Allen Tarlton, Dunstan Moorse, Jeff Anderson

Calling for an end to secrecy about sex abuse by monks at St. John’s Abbey in Collegeville, Minn., attorney Jeff Anderson filed a lawsuit on behalf of two men who allege that two monks at the abbey abused them when they were minors.
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Abbey to follow new policy

Posted on June 20, 2002
Posted in Bishop John Kinney, CMSM, Harry Flynn, John Klassen, William Skudlarek

Though not required to do so, the more than 190 priests and brothers at St. John’s Abbey will abide by the sexual-abuse policy approved by American Catholic bishops last week in Dallas, Abbot John Klassen told the Benedictine monks Wednesday evening.
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Abuser monks out of the ministry, still in jobs

Posted on June 20, 2002
Posted in Allen Tarlton, Andre Bennett, Brennan Maiers, Bruce Wollmering, Cosmas Dahlheimer, Dunstan Moorse, Finian McDonald, Fran Hoefgen, Francisco Schulte, Isaac Connolly, Jim Phillips, John Kelly, John Klassen, Monk Travel, Richard Eckroth, Robert Blumeyer, Thomas Gillespie, Tom Andert

Minnesota’s Catholic bishops returned from Dallas with an explicit mandate to deal with sex abusers in the clergy. The “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People” binds bishops around the country to the same “one-strike” policy.
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Statement from Saint John’s Abbey on Compliance with the U.S. Bishops

Posted on June 19, 2002
Posted in Letters to Community, Statements, ToDo

Monks “on restriction” have no pastoral or teaching responsibilities, nor do they have unsupervised social contact with students or other young persons. They are not allowed to work in the Preparatory School or University, to use most campus academic, athletic or social facilities, or to serve in parishes. They may not travel without permission.

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For 3 Who Warned Church, Fears Borne Out

Posted on June 13, 2002
Posted in 1985 Abuse Meeting, Jason Berry, Thomas Doyle

In an auditorium in the Minnesota countryside one June day, the bishops of the American Roman Catholic Church were gathered in closed conclave. It was a heady time. They had used their moral standing to plunge into the nation’s political debates, taking bold positions on the dangers of capitalism and nuclear arms. But those were not the agenda items of this session.
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Criminal prosecution of priests considered

Posted on June 13, 2002
Posted in Allen Tarlton, Dunstan Moorse, Jeff Anderson, Jim Kostreba

The Stearns County Sheriff’s Office is investigating three cases of alleged sex abuse by priests for possible criminal prosecution, said Sheriff Jim Kostreba.
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Letter to the editor: Monks are reasons St. John’s will endure

Posted on June 8, 2002
Posted in Opinion

On a sunny September day in 1988, my arms filled with a microwave and other worldly possessions, I trudged to the top floor of a St. John’s University dormitory to officially begin my freshman year. As I struggled to stay upright after climbing four flights of stairs, I nearly flattened a short African-American man wrapped in a black cassock. He was puffing on a pipe and was wearing a New York Yankees cap. A Yankees cap? This guy just didn’t look like a monk. Both of us startled, he growled at me to “watch out.” He then helped lighten my load and introduced himself as Father Aidan McCall, my dormitory faculty resident.

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Sex abuse victim dedicates Web site to others stories

Posted on June 8, 2002
Posted in John Klassen, Pat Marker

Pat Marker was one of the first victims to make public his story of sexual abuse at the hands of a St. John’s Abbey priest. Marker’s allegations against the Rev. Dunstan Moorse led to a lawsuit and a settlement, but that wasn’t enough for Marker, who attended St. John’s Preparatory School from 1981 to 1983. He doesn’t want his or other victims’ abuse covered up, minimized or ignored. He wants all of the abuse – each instance involving each abusive monk or priest at St. John’s Abbey – made public so the record can be set straight once and for all.
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Lawsuit Widens Claims of Abuse

Posted on June 7, 2002
Posted in Allen Tarlton, Brennan Maiers, Cosmas Dahlheimer, Dunstan Moorse, Finian McDonald, Fran Hoefgen, ISTI, Jeff Anderson, Jerome Thiesen, John Eidenschink, John Kelly, Pat Marker, Richard Eckroth, Richard Sipe, Thomas Gillespie, William Skudlarek

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.
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St. John’s Abbey Restricts 14th Monk

Posted on June 7, 2002
Posted in Allen Tarlton, Andre Bennett, Brennan Maiers, Cosmas Dahlheimer, Dunstan Moorse, Finian McDonald, Fran Hoefgen, Jeff Anderson, John Eidenschink, John Kelly, Richard Eckroth, William Skudlarek

St. John’s Abbey officials have confirmed that a 14th member has been put on restrictions after being accused of sexual misconduct.
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Abbot John Klassen OSB: An Open Letter of Apology

Posted on June 7, 2002
Posted in Abbey Apology, Abbot Apologies, John Klassen, Letters to Community, Review Board, Timothy Kelly

The Rule of Saint Benedict teaches, “Receive everyone as Christ.” I am deeply sorry that some members of the Saint John’s monastic community have violated such a fundamental part of our commitment by engaging in abusive sexual behavior with people in our schools and parishes. They have not simply broken their vow of chastity, but have inflicted serious harm on their victims.
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