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accused as part of lawsuit
settlement.
"credible allegations of sexual abuse" or
other misconduct were made public Monday,
representing a break in the secrecy that has
long surrounded most Minnesota clergy
abuse cases.
The names were released by St. John's Abbey
of Collegeville as part of a settlement of
clergy abuse lawsuits announced on Monday
by St. Paul attorney Jeff Anderson. The clergy
taught at St. John's Preparatory School or
were assigned to parishes in St. Cloud.
Anderson, the attorney for nine people who
say they were abused by the Roman Catholic
priests and brothers at the abbey, declined to
say how much money his clients will get in
the settlement. He instead emphasized that
the case has always been more about
exposing the names of clergy being accused.
problem [in the Catholic Church]," Anderson
said. "The officials in these cases are the
ones who need to be held accountable."
The public naming of accused clergy who
have not been charged with a crime
represents a change in approach to cases in
Minnesota, among other places in the
country.
At least 17 monks who had "credible
allegations of sexual abuse, exploitation or
misconduct brought against them while they
were working in one of the apostolates of St.
John's Abbey, or before they were a member
of the abbey" were listed in a letter from its
abbot, John Klassen, expected to be sent to
people who attended the prep school,
Anderson said.
Of the 17, four are deceased, three are no
longer at St. John's and the others live at the
abbey "with the constraints of a safety plan
and supervision," according to the letter,
which was part of the terms of the settlement
agreement.
Ten of the men are still residing at the abbey
but have restricted access to minors and
other constraints, according to Michael Ford,
an attorney for the abbey. None of the 17
charged, he said.
The letter will be signed by Klassen once he
returns from an out-of-town trip, and then it
will be posted on St. John's Abbey website,
Ford said. A draft of the letter was made
public by Anderson during a news
conference at his St. Paul office.
Taking responsibility
"One of the things the abbey gets criticized
for is allowing people who have credible
allegations against them to remain members
of the community," said Ford.
"They [the abbey] keep them on board partly .
.. because of the fact that if they release
them, then they're out in the community. So
St. John's is in effect standing behind these
monks from a financial responsibility
standpoint."
Asked whether he was confident these
monks would not offend again, Ford said: "I
sure hope not. We're doing everything we can
to make sure it's a responsible decision.
We're not just sitting back, rolling the dice.
We turn them over to professionals, we have
them evaluated, we monitor their safety
plan."
expert at the Woodstock Theological Center
in Washington, D.C., said the diocese of
Baltimore and others have begun to make
public lists of credibly accused clergy in an
attempt to be more transparent and rebuild
credibility in the wake of the Catholic
Church's sex-abuse scandal.
"The argument in favor of putting up the list
is ... it often invites other victims to come
forward," Reese said. "The victims feel like
this helps in the healing process. There's a
public acknowledgement of what happened
to these victims.
"The bottom line is the church did such a bad
job in handling this [clergy sex abuse], that
no one has any confidence or trust in the
hierarchy's handling of these priests,'' Reese
continued. "I think it's inevitable in today's
world, the church is going to have to publish
these names."
Anderson said similar lists like the one
issued by St. John's exist within the
Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and
the Diocese of Winona, but those have been
blocked from being released by court order.
The archdiocese has previously said such
disclosure could damage a potentially
innocent clergy member.
McCarthy, 55, spoke on behalf of the others
who were at the news conference Monday,
but did not want to be identified. McCarthy
said the late Rev. Bruce Wollmering served as
his counselor at the school and "attacked me
in his office" when McCarthy was 15 years
old.
"I just hope that it does stop," McCarthy said.
"I hope people who this has happened to
come forward and get some help."
The settlement covers allegations against 10
clergy, Anderson said. The abbot's letter
includes the names of eight of those 10, A
nderson added. The other two clergy are
Brother Pascal Brisson, who has left the
abbey, and the Rev. Pirmim Wendt, who is
deceased.
40 years of abuse
Anderson said the victims in the settlement
ranged in ages from 9 to 16 years old at the
time of their alleged abuse. The abuse began
as early as 1960 and continued to at least
2000, the attorney said.
Monks who are living at the abbey with a
"safety plan" do so voluntarily as a condition
for remaining a monk of St. John's Abbey,
ordered. As part of a safety plan, a monk
who has sexually abused a minor cannot
officiate at mass or any sacrament in public.
He may not preach, teach or associate with
students, staff or parishioners in a
ministerial relationship.
Monks who are living with a safety plan are
generally free to move about campus with the
exception of the Preparatory School
buildings, college residence halls or s
wimming pool-fitness center. They are free
to use the library, the bookstore, and to walk
the roads and byways on the campus. Most
St. John's monks on a safety plan are
engaged in one or the other of ongoing
therapy, spiritual direction and group work,
for the sake of their emotional and spiritual
health.
Rose French • 612-673-4352
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