(SC Times) A St. John\u2019s Prep School alumnus who maintains a website that is critical of St. John\u2019s Abbey and its handling of clergy sex abuse cases was kicked off the Collegeville campus last weekend while he was attending a class reunion.<\/p>\n
Patrick Marker was on campus for a reunion of his 1983 Prep School class when a Stearns County sheriff\u2019s deputy told him that the Prep School wanted him removed from the property. Marker, who is a survivor of sexual abuse by St. John\u2019s Abbey monk Dunstan Moorse, had been invited by the Prep School to attend the reunion.<\/p>\n
Marker traveled from Washington to attend the reunion and was eating lunch under a tent near the Prep School with other graduates when the deputy approached and told Marker that St. John\u2019s Life Safety wanted him off campus.<\/p>\n
A report written by the Stearns County deputy doesn\u2019t indicate that Marker was disorderly or disruptive. The Times asked to speak to new Prep School headmaster the Rev. Jonathan Licari, or a designate of his choosing, about Marker\u2019s removal.<\/p>\n
The school issued a two-sentence statement in response.<\/p>\n
\u201cSt. John\u2019s Prep responded to a history of hostility in asking an alumnus to leave our private event,\u201d it read. \u201cWe felt it was in the best interests of our guests to ask this person to leave so that others could enjoy the reunion.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bill Neuhauser, who graduated in Marker\u2019s prep school class, said he was enjoying the reunion until an officer from Life Safety approached Marker and asked him to leave. Marker asked that the officer call the sheriff\u2019s office so Marker could discuss the matter with a deputy.<\/p>\n
The Stearns deputy who arrived also told Marker that he had to leave because St. John\u2019s could have him removed even though they had sent him an invitation to the reunion.<\/p>\n
Neuhauser said he didn\u2019t witness any behavior before that by Marker that was anything other than normal for a class reunion.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile we were there, he did nothing, zilch, zero, other than being another alumni just like the rest of us,\u201d Neuhauser said. \u201cThere was nothing brought up about his website or history or anything. There were no accusations made about anybody, even (at a separate gathering of Prep alumni) the night before.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marker\u2019s website, www.behindthepinecurtain.com<\/a>, has posted extensive information about the clergy sex abuse crisis, much of it involving St. John\u2019s monks and priests. Members of St. John\u2019s Abbey in the past have criticized Marker and his website, saying that some of the information he has posted is incorrect.<\/p>\n Sheriff\u2019s office reports indicate that St. John\u2019s Life Safety told deputies that they made requests of Marker \u201cweeks before the event\u201d that he not show up. Marker denies being contacted in any way about not attending the reunion and said he wouldn\u2019t have bought a plane ticket from Washington and traveled to Collegeville knowing that he was going to be kicked out.<\/p>\n \u201cTo the contrary,\u201d Marker said. \u201cThey invited me, and I never would have attended if I thought there was going to be a scene made and draw attention to myself and embarrass my classmates.\u201d<\/p>\n Many of Marker\u2019s classmates know about his history as an abuse survivor and the website he has created, Neuhauser said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe all know the stories,\u201d Neuhauser said. \u201cWe know the history, and we all commend Pat for being the one to bring all of this up.\u201d<\/p>\n The fact that the Prep School invited Marker to the reunion was something that Neuhauser saw as at least somewhat conciliatory by the school.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought that maybe the school had offered an olive branch here, like \u2018hey, let\u2019s all get along,\u2019 \u201d Neuhauser said.<\/p>\n But when he saw Marker being forced to leave campus, that opinion quickly changed.<\/p>\n We have all been rudely interrupted, is what Neuhauser recalls as his reaction at the time. He plans to send a letter to Abbot John Klassen expressing his displeasure with what happened.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom this point forward, we are going to have our (reunion) gatherings off campus,\u201d Neuhauser said. \u201cI have no reason to go back on campus again.\u201d<\/p>\n Marker acknowledged that he has a strained relationship with St. John\u2019s Prep, the abbey and the university and that he has been asked to leave campus before. There is no restraining order in place that prevents Marker from entering the campus.<\/p>\n And while Neuhauser said he won\u2019t be back on campus, the incident did more than mean the end of his physical attachment to the school. He was disheartened in his adult years to learn about the abuse that was going on while he was a teenager at Prep, he said.<\/p>\n And then came the conduct last weekend that he called \u201cunprofessional, unexpected and uncalled for.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m embarrassed to say I went to school there,\u201d Neuhauser said. \u201cThis really put the nail in the coffin.\u201d<\/p>\n Read the entire article and comments… Here<\/a><\/p>\n Critic of St. John’s told to leave school reunion (SC Times) A St. John\u2019s Prep School alumnus who maintains a website that is critical of St. John\u2019s Abbey and its handling of clergy sex abuse cases was kicked off the Collegeville campus last weekend while he was attending a … Continue reading
\nJuly 3, 2013
\nSaint Cloud Times
\nDavid Unze<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"