According to the abbey’s own records, at least twenty-one priests from Saint John’s Abbey were assigned to St. Anselm’s and St. Benedict’s in the Bronx between 1939 and 1976. In the 1960’s, one of those Saint John’s Abbey priests, Fr. Agustin Cerezo, was removed after several allegations of misconduct surfaced. \u00a0Saint John’s was made aware of Fr. Cerezo’s\u00a0misconduct and replaced him, it is believed, with Fr.\u00a0Virgil O’Neill in 1969.<\/p>\n
Saint John’s was reminded of those allegations twenty-seven years later, in 2006, when Abbot John Klassen was contacted by Msgr. Desmond O’Connor from the Archdiocese of New York after O’Connor’s office was contacted by one of\u00a0Fr.\u00a0Cerezo’s victims.<\/p>\n
Fr.\u00a0Cerezo’s name was not included in a recent letter sent by Abbot Klassen. In fact, Abbot Klassen and the leadership at St. John’s Abbey decided to keep Fr.\u00a0Cerezo’s name, and the credible allegations against him, from the public.<\/p>\n
In June of 2009, another\u00a0Saint John’s Abbey priest, Father Timothy Kelly, was publicly accused of sexual misconduct in the Bronx.\u00a0Father Timothy Kelly would later become abbot at Saint John’s.<\/p>\n
Abbot John Klassen, the spiritual leader at Saint John’s, has proven to be a deceptive administrator. Abbot Klassen’s refusal to be honest with regard to sexual misconduct is a terrible, and dangerous, example for the entire Saint John’s community.<\/p>\n
Saint John’s Abbey priests assigned to parishes in the Bronx:<\/p>\n
*** St. Anselm’s (Bronx, New York)<\/p>\n
Father\u00a0Agustin Cerezo
\nFather Timothy Kelly
\nFather Peter St. Hilaire
\nFather Stephen Wagman
\nFather Mel Taylor
\nFather Virgil O’Neill
\nFather Bartholomew Sayles
\nFather Burton Bloms
\nFather Don Talafous<\/p>\n
*** St. Benedict’s (Bronx, New York)<\/p>\n
Father\u00a0Jordan Stovik
\nFather Emmanuel Kelsch
\nFather Edmund Hall
\nFather Julius Muggli
\nFather Edwin Stueber
\nFather Alban Fruth
\nFather Brennan Maiers (late 60’s to early 70’s)<\/p>\n
***St. Benedict’s and\/or St. Anselm’s (Bronx, New York)<\/p>\n
Father Bernard Watrin
\nFather Sebastian Schramel
\nFather Patrick Okada
\nFather Robert Blumeyer
\nFather Terence Carroll
\nFather Damian Baker<\/p>\n
Posted\u00a0Jun 9, 2011
\nUpdated: November 22, 2011<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
According to the abbey’s own records, at least twenty-one priests from Saint John’s Abbey were assigned to St. Anselm’s and St. Benedict’s in the Bronx between 1939 and 1976. In the 1960’s, one of those Saint John’s Abbey priests, Fr. … Continue reading