Ms. Lally, I would like to attend the next Review Board meeting to discuss the
\nfollowing information.<\/p>\n
*************************<\/p>\n
On March 1, 2007, I wrote an email to Abbot John Klassen, warning
\nthat “Tom Andert’s name will come up again… when the information
\nregarding Andert finally does come out, I believe that the
\nboard\/university\/abbey\/prep school will pay a high price.”<\/p>\n
This past Sunday I received a copy of an email which showed that, “On
\nApril 4th Abbot Klassen announced that the new prior for the abbey
\nwill be Thomas Andert.”<\/p>\n
Yesterday, I received a copy of an email that was sent by Abbot John
\nKlassen in July of 2007. The Abbot lists the members of the
\n“External Advisory Board” (see full list, below). The list of
\nmembers includes Father Tom Andert.<\/p>\n
The members of the Board were first made aware that allegations had
\nbeen made against Father Tom Andert during a Board meeting in May of 2004.<\/p>\n
Several members of the Board expressed a great deal of discomfort
\nfollowing Tom Andert’s interaction with the Board, including his
\npresentation to the Board in September of 2004.<\/p>\n
In October of 2005, the Board minutes reflect that, “Pat Marker
\nshared with Abbot John information that had been reported to Abbot
\nTimothy regarding Tom Andert.”<\/p>\n
In January of 2006, the Board minutes reflect that, “There was a
\nquestion by a member of the Board as to what happened with the Andert
\ncomplaint. The Abbot reported that the victim would not come forward.”<\/p>\n
The Board’s acceptance of Father Tom Andert as a member reflects the
\nchanged nature of the group once referred to as the “The External
\nReview Board”. The spirit and intent of that original Board faded
\nlong ago. The now “External Advisory Board” is a group of people
\nsympathetic to the highly political plight of John Klassen, a
\ndysfunctional monastic system, and the persecution of the offending
\nmonks. The Board has consistently ignored the needs and feelings of
\nvictims who have come forward – and those victims who struggle in
\nsilence as their abusers are promoted and\/or allowed to live and work
\nwithout real restrictions.<\/p>\n
The Board has repeatedly failed to reach out. Almost three years have
\npassed since a letter to the alumni was first discussed during the
\nJanuary 2005 meeting. During the April 2006 meeting, the alumni
\nletter was delayed by the Abbot because of three hurdles. According
\nto the Board minutes, those hurdles were, “a capital campaign,
\nrecruitment issues and access to the database.”<\/p>\n
A capital campaign should never come before the need – and the
\nresponsibility – to reach out to potential victims. Shame on the
\nAbbot and the members of the Board who supported his decision.<\/p>\n
The motion to accept the Abbot’s revised plan (a mention in two
\nmagazines that are not sent to the entire database) was made by the
\nother “survivor” on the Board. This was a slap in the face to all
\nsurvivors. I stood alone in my opposition of the motion because the
\nAbbot’s plan would not reach the right people and did not include the
\nnames of the offenders Father Michael Bik and Father Bruce Wollmering.<\/p>\n
Allegations against Father Bruce Wollmering were brought forward by
\nthe Abbot in the August, 2004 meeting. During that meeting, the Abbot
\ndisclosed that he had been made aware of problems with Wollmering at
\nthe end of the 2002 – 2003 school year. The Abbot and University
\nallowed Wollmering to finish out the school year and officially
\n“retire to pursue other interests” rather than resign immediately.<\/p>\n
Following the Abbot’s disclosure, another Wollmering victim came
\nforward. At least three other “relationships” with college students
\nhave since been confirmed.<\/p>\n
At the February, 2005 meeting, the Review Board was notified by the
\nAbbot that Father Michael Bik had also been on restriction. Abbot
\nTimothy Kelly found out about Bik’s misconduct in 1998. Father
\nMichael Bik entered therapy in 1998 but was not removed from the Prep
\nSchool until 2002. He was then reassigned to a position which had him
\nworking with students at the University – despite information that
\nFather Michael Bik had been acting inappropriately with Prep students
\nand young members of the monastery. This information was kept from
\nthe Board until 2005.<\/p>\n
There is little doubt that Father Michael Bik’s work around minors
\nand young adults at the Prep School, University and at Summer
\nLeadership Camps (1993) required a letter to all potential victims.
\nHowever, the alumni letter was never sent. I speculated during the
\nApril, 2006 meeting that the reason for the delay had to do with
\nAbbot John Klassen’s desire to let the statue of limitations expire
\nfor Bik’s victims. It was captured in the Board meeting minutes as,
\n“Concern was shared regarding potential victims of Michael Bik and
\nthe fact that his name has not been disclosed and statute of
\nlimitations for victims”.<\/p>\n
After being deceived in the matters of Wollmering and Bik, the
\nmembers of the Board let the Abbot off with little more than a wrist
\nslap and concern for his ‘difficult job’. His job is difficult
\nbecause he refuses to sincerely act on the promises and apologies
\nthat he makes in public.<\/p>\n
When I joined the Board, I believed that the days where alcohol could
\nbe used as an excuse for misconduct were over. An original member of
\nthe Review Board [Jonathan Licari] left after just three months because of
\nan incident with a minor parishioner while under the influence of alcohol.
\nIt is my understanding that following the incident, evaluation and
\ntreatment for alcohol-related issues were completed but the issues
\nrelated to the inappropriate behavior were not addressed. This matter
\nshould be reviewed.<\/p>\n
As should the story of one of the original Board members who, while a
\nstudent at St. John’s University, was approached by a Father Paul
\nGoPaul, a visiting priest who went on to victimize at least two
\nothers. The family of one these victims struggled with the pain of
\nabuse while the Board remained silent with information that
\ncorroborated their story. I finally disclosed this important
\ninformation to the family who lost their brother to suicide following
\nabuse at the hands of GoPaul – and to the other victim of GoPaul who
\ncame forward some time later.<\/p>\n
Interestingly, two members of the monastic community now sit on the
\nBoard. Father Gordon Tavis is very familiar with the abuse scandal.
\nHe signed the checks to victims in the early 1990’s. He should be
\nrequired to disclose how many victims were paid off in order to keep
\nthem quiet. He likely knows the names of many perpetrators, including
\nsome not listed on The List, a section of the BehindthePineCurtain.com
\nweb site dedicated to monastic and other misconduct, updated
\ntoday to include the names of four more community members.<\/p>\n
The Board has never truly operated with the best interests of victims
\nin mind. This is apparent in its latest appointments – and the
\ncontinued vacancy of a key seat. Since my resignation in August of
\n2006, the seat on the Board reserved for a victim of abuse at St.
\nJohn’s has not been filled. This is contrary to spirit, if not the
\nmandate, of the October 1, 2002 settlement agreement that was highly
\npublicized and was to serve as an example for other faith
\ncommunities. No positive examples have been set.<\/p>\n
The Board is not “external” at all. The Board has become part of the
\nPine Curtain culture, operating with the same secrecy, sense of
\nimportance and dysfunction that is on display at the monastery. That
\nthe Abbot has a group of admirers on his “Internal Advisory Board” is
\nwonderful, but the work required to do the job correctly, and in the
\nspirt of the October 1, 2002 settlement agreement requires a
\nwillingness to take the high road, not the financially beneficial
\nroad. It requires hard work by a group of outsiders who are not
\nafraid to criticize. It requires difficult questions and full
\ndisclosure. there is no disclosure from the current Board. Where is
\ninformation about the Board on the Abbey’s web site? Where are the
\nannual reports? Why hasn’t an annual report been issued each year?<\/p>\n
As chairperson to the Board, you are responsible for the direction
\nthe Board takes, and the mistakes that it makes. It is time to put
\nyour career aspirations aside and do the right thing. This Board and
\nthis Abbot have failed. It is time for a change. I’d like to discuss
\nthose changes with the Board and the Abbot – and am requesting time
\nat the November, 2007 meeting to do so.<\/p>\n
Patrick J Marker
\nMount Vernon, WA<\/p>\n
cc: Abbot John Klassen<\/p>\n
********************<\/p>\n
*** Board Members as of July 13, 2007<\/p>\n
Fr. Tom Andert, OSB
\nPrior, Saint John’s Abbey<\/p>\n
Fr. Gordon Tavis, OSB
\nAssistant Head of School (Finance), Saint John’s Preparatory School<\/p>\n
David Baraga
\nDirector, Central Minnesota Mental Health Center<\/p>\n
David G. Farrington
\nRetired Chief of Police for the city of Burnsville<\/p>\n
Tom H. Frost
\nCriminal law lawyer; Ramsey County Attorney’s Office, Prosecuting
\nAttorneys Division<\/p>\n
Susan Fuchs-Hoeschen
\nSurvivor of sexual abuse by clergy; nurse by training; background in
\nsocial work.<\/p>\n
Barbara J. Illsley
\nDirector Dakota County Community Corrections<\/p>\n
Catherine Lally
\nChair
\nDoctoral degree in Family Social Science from the University of Minnesota,
\nwith a specialization in Sexuality. Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
\nand a Licensed Psychologist.<\/p>\n
Email from Patrick Marker to Catherine Lally
\nOctober 25, 2007<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ms. Lally, I would like to attend the next Review Board meeting to discuss the following information.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,85,100,110,6,97,78,69,64,88,8,23,3,105],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5513","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bruce-wollmering","category-david-baraga","category-david-g-farrington","category-gordon-tavis","category-john-klassen","category-jonathan-licari","category-kate-lally","category-michael-bik","category-pat-marker","category-paul-gopaul","category-review-board","category-timothy-kelly","category-tom-andert","category-tom-frost","wp-image-borders"],"views":719,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.behindthepinecurtain.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5513","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.behindthepinecurtain.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.behindthepinecurtain.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.behindthepinecurtain.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.behindthepinecurtain.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5513"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.behindthepinecurtain.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5513\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5515,"href":"https:\/\/www.behindthepinecurtain.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5513\/revisions\/5515"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.behindthepinecurtain.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5513"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.behindthepinecurtain.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5513"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.behindthepinecurtain.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5513"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}