Less than two weeks after word surfaced that a former abbot of St. John’s Abbey admitted to past sexual abuse of monks, current abbot John Klassen acknowledged that 15 priests or monks have been accused, or have admitted to, past abuse.
During the weekend of April 20-21, Klassen sent a letter to university students and officials saying that the Rev. John Eidenschink was confined to his room on campus as a result of his admission.
He said in the letter that Eidenschink admitted to abusing two monks in the 1970s, adding that 15 other monks and priests also had their movements and activities restricted, but didn’t expound on the reasons.
Now, Klassen is providing more information about the cases.
He said that the 15 monks or priests had been accused of, or have admitted to, abusing boys ranging in age from 12 to 17 years old, and all the incidents took place in the 1970s.
He said he’s been reviewing the cases since he took the university’s top post 17 months ago, and is going public with the information to “clear the decks.”
The restrictions vary by the case, but all include keeping the monks or priests off the grounds of the university and the associated prep school and out of the university athletic facilities.
None of the identified university officials have been criminally charged with abuse.
There are 196 monks and priests affiliated with the monastery and nearby St. John’s University.
Sex Abuse Details Emerge At St. John’s
Fifteen Monks, Priests Accused Of, Or Admitted To, Abuse In 1970s
Compiled by Parker Hodges, Staff Writer
http://www.channel4000.com/news/1427638/detail.html
Sex Abuse Details Emerge At St. John’s
