Public Apology by Archdiocese of Dubuque

Posted on February 22, 2006
Posted in Jerome Hanus

I write first of all to you who participated in the recent settlement with the Archdiocese. I also write to your spouses and to the members of your families. In addition, I include all survivors who as minors suffered sexual abuse perpetrated by any Church personnel.

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Francisco Schulte, OSB

Posted on January 26, 2006
Posted in Francisco Schulte

Francisco Schulte, OSB is a Benedictine monk on the staff of the Abbot Primate in Rome. He received his Doctorate in Sacred Theology (Spirituality) from the …

Organized Pedophilia and the Criminal Exploitation of Children

Posted on January 23, 2006
Posted in Jim Rothstein, John Klassen, Joshua Guimond

On the streets of every city in America there are thousands of children, both boys and girls, selling themselves into prostitution. Almost nothing is done to discourage this. Some of these children are on their own, others are preyed upon by older children who exploit them. Surrounding and controlling these children, who have been manipulated and forced into utter physical, sexual, and emotional degradation in their daily lives, are their procurers and abusers who are even more depraved. It is these procurers and abusers who criminally and sexually exploit these children for commercial purposes: pornography, prostitution, extortion, blackmail, and human compromise; not to mention larceny, burglary, and other criminal activities.
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Minnesota Gay Priest Resigns Over Vatican Policy

Posted on December 22, 2005
Posted in Bob Pierson, Homosexuality, Michael Hemmesch, Rome

Collegeville – A priest at St. John’s University said he was resigning his leadership position because of the Vatican’s latest statement that homosexuals should be barred from entering the Roman Catholic priesthood.

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The Spotless Bride and the Scattered Apostles

Posted on December 14, 2005
Posted in Fran Hoefgen

I met with Fr. O’Connell and Andrew Ritten at about 4:00 P.M. at the Dunn Brothers coffee shop on Loring Park. I thanked him for meeting me and mentioned that up to that point, Fr. Kevin McDonough and Fr. Dale Korogi had not been willing to meet with me. I asked if he would start us with a prayer and he did. Then I told him I wanted to start the meeting assuming we were brothers and asked if we could exchange some personal history. I also asked if Mr. Ritten was a Catholic brother or if he was acting as his attorney. Mr. Ritten said they did not have an attorney-client relationship. After we exchanged “biographies,” Fr. O’Connell and I did almost all of the talking. I explained a couple of stories about my sons, one of whom went to a priest in northeast Minneapolis asking for a spiritual advisor a few months before. He was referred to Fr. Fran Hoefgen, a St. John’s priest who had admitted abuse of a fifteen-year-old in a counseling situation many years ago. Read More

KARE 11 Investigates: Reker Case

Posted on November 14, 2005
Posted in Mary Reker, Susan Reker

The abduction and murder of 15-year-old Mary Reker and her 12-year-old sister Susan remains one of the most heinous unsolved crimes in state history. It happened on Labor Day 1974. The girls were missing for a month before their bodies were found, stabbed, at a rock quarry north of St. Cloud. The case has always stood out as much for the nature of the crimes as for the bungling of the investigation.

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Unsolved case raises questions 3 years later

Posted on November 10, 2005
Posted in Aubrey Immelman, Jason Laker, Joshua Guimond, Michael Hemmesch

It was a frigid November night when he vanished from SJU without leaving his glasses, his coat or any solid clues to his whereabouts behind.

Three years and a day later, Joshua Guimond is still missing.
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Parents frustrated no developments in son’s vanishing

Posted on October 27, 2005
Posted in Joshua Guimond

Three years later, there is still no sign of Joshua Guimond, the St. John’s University student who vanished from campus shortly after midnight on Nov. 10, 2002.
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Monastic Liturgy Forum (Dunstan Moorse)

Posted on October 21, 2005
Posted in Dunstan Moorse, Monk Travel

Monastic Liturgy Forum – Discusses Paschal Triduum: Forty-two monastic liturgists from across the US gathered at St. Scholastica Monastery in Fort Smith, AR, August 17-20. Founded in 1988, this was the tenth national meeting of the Monastic Liturgy Forum.
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2005-2007 Academic Catalog – St. John’s University

Posted on October 1, 2005
Posted in Bruce Wollmering

2005-2007 Academic Catalog – St. John’s University
Psychology
Department Chair: Bruce Wollmering OSB

Faculty: Marty Andrews, Jan Holtz, John Hotz, Aubrey Immelman, Michael Livingston, Anthony Marcattilio, Gregory Murrey, Rodger Narloch, Scott Palmer, Renee Rau OSB, Stephen Stelzner, Linda Tennison, Richard Wielkiewicz, Bruce Wollmering OSB
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New Vatican Rule Said to Bar Gays as New Priests

Posted on September 22, 2005
Posted in Homosexuality, Rome

(New York Times) ROME, Sept. 21 – Homosexuals, even those who are celibate, will be barred from becoming Roman Catholic priests, a church official said Wednesday, under stricter rules soon to be released on one of the most sensitive issues facing the church.

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Former monk now investigates priests

Posted on September 1, 2005
Posted in Patrick Wall

SANTA ANA – In bright sunlight, Patrick Wall walked in darkness. Lost in the secular world. After 11 years as a Benedictine monk – six as a priest – he had renounced his vows and left St. John’s Abbey.

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Priest Quits Church to Expose Scandals

Posted on August 28, 2005
Posted in Patrick Wall, Richard Sipe, Thomas Doyle

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.
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‘Divorce’ from the Benedictines

Posted on August 20, 2005
Posted in John Klassen, Patrick Wall, Richard Sipe, Thomas Doyle

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
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The end of an era; Monastery closes after 114 years

Posted on July 20, 2005
Posted in Bahamas, George Wolf, Mel Taylor

There was an extra stillness in the air recently as Father Mel Taylor looked over the picturesque grounds of the Monastery of Saint Augustine of Canterbury, which closed after 114 years of existence.

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Report of External Review Board – July 2005

Posted on July 1, 2005
Posted in Barbara Illsley, Charles A. Flinn, Dale Launderville, David Baraga, David G. Farrington, Janet Robert, Kate Lally, Pat Marker, Review Board, Susan Fuchs-Hoeschen, Tom Frost

I. Organization of the Board
The External Review Board was formed in June, 2003 as part of a settlement. The original composition of the Board was made up of four members selected by Jeffrey Anderson and four members selected by Abbot John Klassen. The eight-member Board then selected a ninth Board member. The Board has membership representing survivors, the criminal justice system, the mental health profession and the monastery.
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A Death in Rome by Francisco Schulte, OSB

Posted on June 1, 2005
Posted in Francisco Schulte, Pope Benedict XVI, Pope John Paul II

I was at St. Peter’s Square and in the basilica with some guests the evening before the pope died; we had gone there to tour the church and, of course, to pray for him at the tomb of his predecessor, Peter the Fisherman. The crowds were extraordinarily immense, even for Easter time. They kept vigil under the pope’s third-floor window: prayerful, sorrowful-and-joyful-at-the-same-time. There were tears, of course, but also so many expressions of what I can only describe as joyous Easter faith. Plus, there were legions of young people singing to the Pope, chanting, “JP Two — we love you!” loudly, in the hopes that he could hear them if he were still conscious. People were all over the square on their knees, quietly at prayer or praying the rosary in groups in every language you can imagine. Quite an image.
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114 Years of Service in the Bahamas, 1891 – 2005

Posted on May 16, 2005
Posted in Bahamas

At the opening of the Bahama Benedictine Centennial in January, 1991, Sir Henry Taylor, Acting Governor General of the Bahamas, paid tribute to the missionary monks of Saint John’s with these words: “The work of the Benedictines in the Bahamas is beyond anyone’s estimation.” Key dates in the history of Benedictine monks in the Bahamas include:

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Lessons in Preservation

Posted on April 1, 2005
Posted in Bruce Wollmering, John Klassen, Review Board

Down the hall from the Arboretum office, in the New Science Center at Saint John’s University, is a collection of preserved creatures that once lived nearby, as well as a few exotic species. Songbirds, ducks, cranes, and many large mammals are intimately available for education.
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Spiritually Challenged

Posted on December 4, 2004
Posted in Brian Guimond, John Sanner, Joshua Guimond, Michael Hemmesch

St. John’s website officially advises that the character of the university is shaped by the Benedictine communities that founded the college: “By living according to Saint Benedict’s Rule, members of the monastic communities cultivate love of God, neighbor and self through the art of listening, worship and balanced, humane living. They challenge students to embrace these values as well.”
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