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- Where is Fr. Michael Leonard Hahn?
- SCSO Report Different Than Seven Witnesses
- Concerns at Saint Mary's University of Minnesota
- What Happened to Joshua Guimond? (The LeSabre)
- Matthew Feeney Slipped Through Their Fingers.
- Obituary - Father Bruce Wollmering OSB, 1940-2009
- The Autopsy of Bruce Wollmering
- Schulte - Letter re Marker on Review Board
- Prep School Teacher Out After "Incident" Reported
- Lawsuit Filed re Father Doug Mullin, OSB
- Abbot John Klassen Retiring
- Investigators: In Feeney's Words (Video)
- Father Brennan Maiers Dies at 86
- Koopmann: Poetry and Cockwarmers
- Rev. Robert Koopmann - Secrets Caught Up
- The List
- Eleven SJP Grads Among Monk Perpetrators
- Reports surface of ‘sex competition’ in Patrick Hall
- CSB/SJU community demands action after allegation of 'sex competition' among St. John's students
- CSB, SJU Investigate Alleged Sex Competition (AP)
- CSB/SJU investigating allegations of 'sex competition' run by male students
- St. John's Boys' Choir completes investigation into sexual misconduct allegation
- Stearns County football coach under investigation resigns
- Former Kimball coach shares story following closed investigation
- Tim Nahan Press Conference
- Minnesota high school football coach being investigated after complaint
Abbey Statement Regarding MPR News Story
[Webmaster’s Note: The abbey’s statement (below) is misleading and contains outright lies. Specific examples regarding are available… Here.]
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A year after son’s suicide, parents seek change at St. John’s
(MPR) It’s been a year since Ben Spanier took his life. His parents say his problems began 20 years earlier, when he was a student at St. John’s Prep in Collegeville. They say their son wasn’t the same after he began spending time with the Rev. Tom Andert, a prominent priest who was placed on leave earlier this year for a separate allegation of sexual misconduct.
Monks Who Have Passed
Below is a list of men who died while still professed members of Saint John’s Abbey.
Most Recent:
Brother Nicholas Claude Thelen (June 27, 2015)
Father Barnabas Laubach (June 23, 2015)
Father Richard William Eckroth (May 24, 2015)
We must share concern for all innocent people victimized by abusers or accusers
[Webmaster’s Note: This opinion piece was written for the Duluth News Tribune by The Rev. William C. Graham, a close friend and partner of Father Timothy Backous, OSB.]
Priests Files (PDFs) from the November 2015 File Release
*** Rev. Richard Eckroth
Timeline | Key Documents | File 1 | File 2 | File 3
*** Rev. Thomas Gillespie
Timeline | Key Documents | File 1
*** Rev. Francis Hoefgen
Timeline | Key Documents | File 1
*** Rev. Finian McDonald
Timeline | Key Documents | File 1 | File 2
*** Rev. Bruce Wollmering
Timeline | Key Documents | File 1 | File 2
Sex offending monks have no contact with students … or do they?
“Hmmm … if the 6th though 12th graders at [Saint John’s Preparatory School] want to get something to eat or attend Mass, how do they avoid all of those pesky sex-offending monks in the Monastic Residence?” – Joelle Casteix
Vatican thwarts review boards, documents show
(Worthy Adversary) Everything the bishops have been led you to believe about the independent power of lay review boards is deliberately misleading.
St. John’s Abbey monk accused of abuse reports 200 sexual encounters
(Star Tribune) One priest reported 200 sexual encounters, including some with students at St. John’s University and prep school.
Another recorded the names of dozens of boys he brought to a cabin, some of whom he sexually abused.
Another abuser was paid $30,000 by St. John’s Abbey to support him as he left the clergy.
Settlement sparks release of monk files
(SC Times) ST. PAUL — The personnel files of five St. John’s Abbey monks were released Tuesday as part of the settlement of a lawsuit against the abbey and one of its monks. Read More
Secret files on St. John’s Abbey monks show hundreds of possible victims
ST. PAUL, Minn. (KMSP) – Brand new, once-secret files on 19 monks from St. John’s Abbey show they may have abused hundreds of children. Attorney Jeff Anderson released the files of 5 of those monks Tuesday, saying time is running out for victims to step forward.
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St. John’s Abbey monk accused of abuse reports 200-plus sexual encounters
(StarTribune) The first batch of personnel files on monks accused of sex abuse at St. John’s Abbey in Collegeville were released Tuesday, in which a former counselor and dormitory prefect at St. John’s University reported having 200 sexual encounters — some with St. John students.
Read More
Released Files: Rev. Gillespie’s 1996 Removal from St. Joseph, Minnesota
Earlier today, files were released regarding Father Tom Gillespie’s 1996 removal from St. Joseph, Minnesota.
Media Advisory: McDonald, Wollmering, Eckroth, Gillespie, Hoefgen Files
Release the files of five St. John’s monks accused of sexually abusing children.
Abbey Statement on Release of Files
[Webmaster’s Note: The following statement was made by Saint John’s Abbey ahead of Tuesday’s release of five priest files. The files were turned over and are being released as part of a settlement between the abbey and one of Father Allen Tarlton’s victims. The abbey is not, as they claim below, “voluntarily sharing these documents.”]
Web Site Feedback
I’ve followed your site in the past, and the developments of the Jacob Wetterling case brought it back to the forefront of my mind. I just wanted to say “thank you” for all your hard work. I really enjoyed my four years at Saint John’s University. However, I was never close with any of the monks. I am glad that was the case. There is a complete lack of institutional control that is a poison on that campus.
Abbey leader says priest exonerated of molesting choirboy
DULUTH, Minn. — A priest who was accused of molesting a choirboy during a European tour in 1990 has been exonerated in a third-party investigation, according to the abbot of his monastery.
But an advocate for victims of sexual abuse by priests isn’t satisfied.
Another Accused Priest With Saint John’s Ties
[Webmaster’s Note: The Rev. Antonio Marfori graduated from St. John’s University in 1972. Marfori is the 85th alleged perpetrator with ties to Saint John’s. See List.]
AP: Story Below
SC Times: Here
MPR: Here
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A priest at an Elk River parish and school is being accused of abusing a teen in the 1970s.
Catholic Church Sex Abuse Survivors Frustrated By Pope Francis’ US Visit, Lack Of Action
[Marker] pointed to the case of his classmate Ben Spanier, whose parents allege he was abused by the Rev. Thomas Andert at Saint John’s Abbey in the mid-1990s. Pending a separate investigation, the accused priest was put on leave this past August — too late for Spanier, who killed himself in December 2014.
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‘Incest’ best describes abuse by those you trust
“I thought of this when I recently learned a victim of sexual predation at St. John’s Preparatory School recently took his life. I thought of this as I reflected on my own experience as a victim of sexual assault while at St. John’s Prep and how it took me 30 years before I could openly discuss my experience without fearing shame, remorse, guilt or reprisal.” – Maj John Donovan
The Perpetrator’s Psalm
Courtesy: YouTube
Credibly accused Saint John’s Abbey monk perpetrator Father Anthony Ruff wrote a psalm that will be used during Pope Francis’ visit to the United States later this week.
While Father Ruff’s psalm has received some attention (Saint Cloud Times, Saint Cloud Diocese, Catholic Herald), credible allegations of sexual misconduct against Father Ruff have yet to be publicly acknowledged by the leadership at Saint John’s Abbey.