Modernist Abbey Shuffles and Whitewashes Predators

Edit: in these sad days, there are no menacing Dominican Inquisitors come like avenging angels to clean house. The devil and his minions are free to do as they please, with some help from the secular media (and the established dinosaur "religious" media) the neglect of the laity, and the malfeasance of the clergy, including even the pope himself, who is no stranger to giving a pass to his very special friends.

Regardless of the large amount of evidence to the contrary, Saint John's Abbey has decided to declare some of its most notorious offenders as not credibly accused and is attempting to reject accusations by a recent victim, and the parents of a  deceased former victim, the late Ben Spanier.  As we predicted, Saint John's Abbey is reinstating one predator, Father Tom Andert O.S.B. to active ministry. (We'd think taking a student on a tour of "gay" bars, and admitting to caressing one victim's forehead, would be enough for a permanent suspension. Hey, it's not like he has a preference for the Latin Mass!) It is unclear at this point whether Andert will be restored to his position as Prior after an upcoming year long sabbatical. We expect that the Modernist Abbey is waiting for things to blow over. It's also attempting to whitewash the reputation of the late Father Allen Tarleton O.S.B..

So far it seems like a large part of the press is willing to help them paint over their dirt. This falls under the column of, "if it were a conservative or neo-conservative institution or prelate, the lefty press and the local authorities would be more forthcoming and intervene category." Surely, Pope Francis, who has an unalloyed fondness for HIS sexual predators and enablers, won't be moved to do anything.  Compare the treatment St. John's gets compared to Archbishop John Nienstedt.  Abbott John Klassen is not only shifting predators around, but he's getting help to do it by the same press that pilloried Nienstedt. The difference?  Abbot Klassen isn't likely to oppose sodomarriage or teach the Catholic Faith we fear.

If you'll recall, Andert was accused of being a sexual predator this summer and stepped down from his post as Prior.  Despite the suicide of Ben Spanier one of Andert's likely victims, an in house review board  found that the accusations against both Andert and the recently deceased and self-confessed predator,  Tarleton.

Tarleton has a history of sexual abide going back to his attendance at St. John's Preparatory School, a high school run by Saint John's, since the fifties. He even admits drugging at least one of his victims before preying on them. 

It's difficult to understand how Saint John's can credibly maintain that these men were laudable given what they've admitted and written, but we live in sad times.

[Saint Cloud Times] Allegations of sexual abuse against the former prior of St. John's Abbey have been found to be unsubstantiated, according to Abbot John Klassen.

The allegations were made by a former St. John's Prep student in July and accused the Rev. Thomas Andert of abusing the student in 1979-80. The abbey retained independent counsel to investigate the allegations and, after a six-month investigation, it concluded that the claims were unsubstantiated.

http://www.sctimes.com/story/news/local/2016/02/04/klassen-allegation-against-andert-unsubstantiated/79828136/

Father Tom Andert's love letters to the late Ben Spanier:

http://www.behindthepinecurtain.com/wordpress/fr-tom-anderts-love-letters-scanned/

Abbey's attempt to sanitize deceased predator (Graphic!)

http://www.behindthepinecurtain.com/wordpress/category/allen-tarlton/

Here's Church Militant helping to cover this:

http://www.churchmilitant.com/news/article/benedictine-abbey-accused-of-releasing-abuse-victim-information

Helpful info about Andert from Ben Spanier's grieving and very angry parents.  Frankly, I'm still shocked Andert has a job, but then I wake up and remember that this is Collegeville we're talking about.

http://www.mprnews.org/story/2015/12/18/spanier-parents-seek-change-at-st-johns-minnesota

AMDG

Grieving Parents Call for Reform of Corrupt Benedictine Abbey in Minnesota

Edit: back in March, we took notice of the almost unanimous absence in local reporting of the abuse and suicide of Ben Spanier, and the man who most directly caused it, the Prior of St. John's Abbey, Father Tom Andert, now on leave of absence.  Andert was subsequently placed on restriction and relived of his duties pending the investigation.  When the story of Andert's dismissal broke, the local news media completely ignored Ben's very credible accusations and his death, covered almost exclusively in a blog by a former alumnus of St. John's Preparatory School.

Only yesterday, National Public Radio, itself born at Collegeville, did a piece about Ben's parents, who are calling for a change in the "culture of secrecy" at St. John's Abbey.  It's not clear what is meant by this, but the sincerity of his grieving parents and the contempt with which they've been treated by the Abbey is very real, indeed.

To date, no one is calling for the resignation of Abbot John Klassen who has consistently lied to protect predators and preserve the atmosphere of heresy in collegeville.  Those who were very vocal in calling for the resignation of Archbishop John Nienstedt, like the dissident St. John's alum, Father Mark Tegeder, are completely silent now.

How a story like this could be passed over in the local Catholic and secular media is truly a thing to behold.  We hope this call for reform isn't a call for their kind of reform.

[NPR] 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. 

The Spaniers say they're coming forward now because they want the culture at St. John's to change. Ben Spanier had attempted suicide before. His father, Eric, will never forget picking up the phone that night in 1994. On the other end of the line was the Rev. Tom Andert, the head of the boarding school at St. John's, where Ben was a junior.
"I answered the phone," Eric Spanier said. "He was calling from the emergency room in the hospital, so it was a shock." 

He said he was relieved the priest was there to care for his son.

"Benedictine" Abbey Removes Porn by "Artist" Monk

Tupa and Abbot Klassen 

Edit:  this priest's artwork looks like something made by a serial killer during arts and crafts in a Federal Prison.

We were linked here and decided to draw more attention to the article.  Here's  an excerpt plus links from Pine Curtain:

Sadomasochistic and Violent

[Pine Curtain] Father Jerome Tupa - a priest from Saint John’s Abbey and the subject of a December 12, 2012 letter [ View ] to Father Bob Rolfes at the Diocese of Saint Cloud – no longer has a web site at jerometupa.com and he no longer sells his art/pornography at https://eelement.appolis.com/jerometupa/.  In addition to serving as pastor at Saint Joseph Parish in St. Joseph, Minnesota, where he acts as confessor and spiritual counselor to hundreds, Father Tupa currently sits on the board of All Saints Academy [ View ] with schools in St. Joseph and Waite Park, Minnesota.

Samples of Father Jerome Tupa’s NSFW art are still available Here.

Father Jerome Tupa’s SFW art is available Here.

Media: Please request additional samples of Tupa’s NSFW artwork Here.

Photo from dedication of Gathering Space...

Accusations Against Modernist Monastery's Legal Counsel: Another Monk Hides Out in Ireland

Modernist Architecture
Modernist Behavior

Edit: Have just received this from the Pine Curtain site and  we are citing the stories below with supporting documentation linked to that site. 

Two Monks who'd been previously mentioned here, Father Mel Taylor who has just fled to Ireland during a current investigation of multiple cases of misconduct, and Father Dan Ward, a canon and civil attorney for the Abbey who also counsels monks on dealing with sexual abuse. Father Ward figured predominantly in the initial accusations against the Modernist Monastery, and categorically denied them then. It's becoming increasingly difficult for them to avoid, or worse, to malign those who have called their conduct and status as Catholic figures into question.

Father Mel Taylor was expected to continue parish work in the United States after leaving the Bahamas where that monastery was closing down, but he will not be going back to parish work, owing to an investigation against him.  

It's thought in some very well-informed circles, that certain Liberal institutions and figures within the Catholic Church have worked with the media to create the perfect storm.

Not to confuse things, but it seems that the disobedience, Leftist agendas and the promotion of a homosexual subculture by figures like Father Bob Pierson are intimately linked to the conditions at schools like St. John's where students are not only trained not to think, but are sometimes even used as playing pieces in a political and religious farce.

Here is the information we've received from the Pine Curtain with no editing, and the early video showing Father Dan Ward denying the allegations by the blog's author, Pat Marker, against Father Dunstan Moorse and other monks:

*** Father Dan Ward, OSB

Father Dan Ward, OSB served as assistant to the University president for legal service. (See file: 1978-1979 Winter SJU Alumni_Wollmering_Ward.pdf) He was also an Assistant Professor of Theology and Government at Saint John's University for over ten years (See file: dan_ward_education_1984.jpg).

Father Ward is a canon and civil attorney and a member of the Minnesota Bar (See file: ward_mn_bar.jpg).

In August of 1991, the first day that allegations against monks at Saint John's were made public, Father Ward represented offending monk Father Dunstan Moorse is a case of sexual abuse. See 1:50 mark of this video: 

Father Ward now counsels religious on matters of sexual misconduct worldwide. (See file: RCRI_Web_Site.jpg )

I received notice that an investigation had been commissioned regarding Father Dan Ward on October 4, 2012. Abbot John Klassen and Bishop Kinney were cc'd to that email. (See file: 20121004_Airdo_Email.pdf).

At least five men and one woman (CSB student) have alleged misconduct by Father Ward.

One of the allegations against Ward (see file: Ward_1970s_2.pdf) was disclosed in my October 8 letter to Sr. Sharon Euart, executive director of the Canon Law Society of America. (See file: 20121008_Marker_to_Euart.pdf)

All six of the allegations against Father Ward were disclosed in my October 9 letter to the Minnesota Bar Association.

Father Dan Ward is scheduled to speak (on three of the four days) at RCRI’s national conference in Orlando next week.

*** Father Mel Taylor, OSB

On June 8, 2012, Bishop John Kinney from the Diocese of Saint Cloud (MN) announced that Father Mel Taylor would be the next priest at Saint John the Baptist in Collegeville. Source:

http://www.stcdio.org/the-visitor/official-announcements.html

Prior to that announcement, on June 3, 2012, Father Mel Taylor was confronted by one of his victims. The confrontation occurred during Father Mel Taylor's last mass in the Bahamas. Background and a video of that confrontation is available here:

http://www.behindthepinecurtain.com/wordpress/video-of-confrontation-in-the-bahamas/

On June 26, 2012, I wrote an email to Bishop John Kinney, requesting that he, "reconsider the appointment of Father Mel Taylor as pastor at Church of Saint John the Baptist, Collegeville, Minnesota." (See file: 20120626_Marker_to_Kinney.pdf )

On June 29, 2012, Bishop Kinney wrote a letter (See file: 20120629_kinney_letter_re_Taylor.pdf) stating that Mel Taylor was under investigation.

Father Mel Taylor was a prefect, chaplain and residency dean at the Prep School in the 80s. (see file: Taylor_Res_Dean_82-83.pdf)

Misconduct against Mel Taylor is outlined in a notarized document dated August 30, 2012. (See file: 20120830_Misconduct_re_Mel_Taylor.pdf)

Just days after the Father Mel Taylor investigation began in August, Father Taylor fled to Ireland.

Modernist Abbey Still Defies Archbishop Nienstedt

Edit: St. John's Abbey has recently come out in favor of the Marriage Amendment, but not really. Archbishop Nienstedt has been courageously encouraging all Minnesotans to defend Marriage, while some of his own clergy and professed Monks in Collegeville are undercutting his authority and insulting the Catholic Faith. While they insist that they support Marriage, they don't explicitly advocate a vote for "yes" and undercut the message by wingding about how different types of people have different struggles.

Of course, they mean Father Bob Pierson, among others, who was asked to lie low but continues to speak against the Archbishop's witness in defense of marriage. The Abbey refuses to discipline him or any of the others like him who make a mockery of the Church's teachings by their support for sodomy.

We'd written earlier this month about Father Piersn's continuing defiance of the Archbishop's defense of marriage.

Here's the Abbey's passive aggressive non-statement. It's actually worse than if they'd said nothing at all:

Marriage amendment in Minnesota

As a Catholic institution we take the proposed amendment to the Minnesota constitution as an opportunity "to witness to our conviction that marriage is a vital part of the social fabric" that needs support and attention. By doing this we hope to put the marriage amendment into a larger context that acknowledges the challenges that people face in reconciling their faith commitments with a variety of other positions in the culture.

Individual members of the monastic community do have individual opinions regarding this and other political, social and even moral issues under discussion in our society. Individual monks may express their personal views on such issues based on their own freedom of conscience, though in doing so, they do not necessarily represent the opinion or view of the abbey. In this situation, the individual speaks for himself only.

As an institution we strive to ensure that whatever takes place under our auspices be consistent with the integrity of the Church's teaching on marriage. We wish to witness to unity, respect, and peace, even in the midst of challenging emotions and differing ideas on this matter.

Modernist Abbey's Football Coach Silent About Sexual Predators

Edit: St. John's Abbey is a decadent religious house of Benedictines, numbering approximately 153 professed monks and belong to the American Cassinese Congregation, founded in 1856 by Abbot Boniface Wimmer, located near the township of Collegeville, and affiliated with one of the oldest Universities in Minnesota.

We'd written something up earlier this year about the winningest coach in football at the most Modernist Monastery in North America if not the world, St. John's Abbey, and how the press contacted John Gagliardi about the Joe Paterno case. They couldn't have asked a better person, since John Gagliardi knows exactly what it's like to cover for sexual predators from his own professional back ground. Here's the article with some links from Pine Curtain:

[Pine Curtain] According to an upcoming report, Saint John’s University football coach John Gagliardi recently admitted that he has been aware of sexual misconduct at Saint John’s since the 1950′s.

In fact, it was Gagliardi’s report to Father Dunstan Tucker which led to a perpetrating faculty member’s swift exit from Saint John’s after a high school recruit (and potentially a minor) from Florida confided in Gagliardi that he had been molested by the faculty member following a tour of the campus.

According to Gagliardi, the perpetrating faculty member later took a job at high school in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It is unclear what steps, if any, Gagliardi took to protect the students at that high school.

Compare this revelation with statements Gagliardi made during an interview regarding the sexual abuse scandal at Penn State that was published on November 9, 2011:

“You don’t want to believe it could happen. Thank God, I’ve never run into that situation. There are some horrible people out there.” [ View]

Gagliardi HAS run into “that situation” before and yet he remains silent, despite his knowledge that at least one of his star football players was a victim of sexual misconduct by a priest at Saint John’s Abbey in the 1980′s. That perpetrating priest remains on campus today and according to the abbey’s web site, is “free to move about campus with some exceptions … free to use the library, the bookstore and to walk the roads and byways on the campus.” [View ]

As this site’s webmaster wrote in January of 2012 [ View ], Gagliardi’s silence regarding misconduct at Saint John’s is a problem — and his comments regarding Penn State scandal, [ View ] Joe Paterno and Jerry Sandusky appear to be even more hypocritical.