Members of a church sex-abuse survivors group will distribute pamphlets at St. Stephen Catholic Church in Anoka on Sunday morning informing parishioners that a former teacher of the parish school was recently identified as an accused abuser.
St. John’s Abbey in Collegeville in early August publicly identified three accused priests, including the Rev. Michael Bik, who was accused in 1997 of abusing two teenage boys in the 1970s, before his ordination.
Officials of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis said Thursday their employee pension records indicate Bik would have taught at St. Stephen sometime between 1971 and 1992. They said, however, that they had no record of receiving the 1997 allegations against Bik and had not been aware of him until the recent statement by the abbey, where Bik lives.
The pamphlet, to be distributed by members of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, says Archbishop Harry Flynn “kept silent” about the allegations against Bik.
“(Bik) was a teacher in the school but never a priest of this archdiocese,” spokesman Dennis McGrath said. “The archbishop had no knowledge of this, nor did anyone else here.”
McGrath said Bik stopped teaching at St. Stephen at least two years before Flynn came to the Twin Cities.
Bob Schwiderski, Minnesota chapter president of SNAP, said Catholic institutions in the state should have better communicated with one another about allegations of abuse.
Last month, the abbey also identified accusations made against the Rev. Bruce Wollmering in 2004, for misconduct in the 1980s, and against the late Rev. Robert Blumeyer, made this year for incidents about 35 years ago.
Steve Scott may be reached at 651-228-5526.
Ex-St. Stephen teacher accused of abusing teens
Sex-abuse survivors to inform parishioners
BY STEVE SCOTT
Pioneer Press
