Category Archives: William Skudlarek

Mr. Marker is an honorable man (Opinion)

Mr. Marker is an honorable man who did the honorable thing which of course raises the question as to where do Chairman Baraga and the rest of the board stand on this issue. I wish the Times would do the … Continue reading

St. John’s review board member resigns

COLLEGEVILLE – Pat Marker felt he was prevented from helping those who needed help the most. Marker resigned in protest Friday from an external review board formed as part of St. John’s Abbey’s response to a clergy sexual abuse scandal.

Member of abbey review board resigns in protest

COLLEGEVILLE – A member of the external review board formed as part of St. John’s Abbey’s response to allegations of sexual misconduct has resigned in protest of what he said was a delay in publicly disclosing accusations of sexual abuse.

Abbey defends its handling of clergy offenses

ST. LOUIS PARK – St. John’s Abbey officials say the claims made Wednesday by a national advocacy group for clergy molestation victims are inaccurate.

Abbey names 3 more accused abusers

The names have been added to the list of St. John’s Abbey clerics who have faced allegations of sexual abuse recently or in the more distant past. The names of three priests accused of sexual misconduct, primarily in the 1970s … Continue reading

3 named in abuse allegations

COLLEGEVILLE – New allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced Friday against three members of the St. John’s monastic community. The Revs. Michael Bik, Bruce Wollmering and the late Rev. Robert Blumeyer were named in a statement by the abbey based on … Continue reading

Abbey: Please Report Abuse

St. John’s Abbey is asking those who have been victimized by a former St. Cloud pastor to come forward after last year’s revelations of sexual abuse in the St. Cloud diocese.

Abbot who admitted to abuse dies

COLLEGEVILLE (AP) – The Rev. John Eidenschink, a former St. John’s abbot who admitted he sexually abused two abbey monks, has died.

Force of Habit

The bells have been ringing for thirty minutes, but it is the sound of a cane rattling through the empty, cavernous church that suggests prayer. It is held by an old man, his stooped body covered in the flowing black … Continue reading

Court to Consider Expelling Clergy

A Minneapolis man who accuses St. John’s Abbey of “harboring pedophiles” has filed a court action demanding the removal of 11 monks and priests from St. John’s property.

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.

Father is `lion at the gate’ pressing case against priest

Ed Vessel said he was “disinvited” to the Oct. 1 news conference at which St. John’s Abbey and Jeffrey Anderson, attorney for victims of sexual abuse by abbey monks, jointly announced a broad financial settlement of claims against the abbey.

Monks suffer with abusers in the family

The shame, anger and soul-searching that have gripped much of the U.S. Catholic church in the wake of an avalanche of sex abuse scandals this year have been felt acutely by the band of Benedictines who comprise the monastic community … Continue reading

St. John’s Monk Takes Leave after Conduct Concerns

Brother Isaac Connolly, a former dean of students at St. John’s University, took a leave from the St. John’s Abbey after allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced this spring, the campus community learned Wednesday.

Orders have let abusers remain

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

Criminal prosecution of priests considered

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 … Continue reading

As priest abusers become public, a parish looks at its past

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 … Continue reading

2 abbey priests leave jobs that involved the public

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.

Abbot removes two monks from positions at abbey

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.

Abbey to follow new policy

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 … Continue reading