["Establishment" canon lawyers group] keep mum on [conference] speaker’s five [sexual] abuse allegations
Posted by Joelle Casteix on October 15, 2012
theworthyadversary.com/1513-church-lawyers-keep-mum-on-speakers-five-abuse-allegations
Patrick Marker from BehindthePineCurtain broke this blockbuster story [see below]
The organization representing lawyers practicing Catholic Church “law” recently allowed a man with numerous allegations of sexual abuse to speak to its membership at its Chicago conference.
The Canon Law Society of America (CLSA), the organization charged with “promotion of the study and application of canon law in the Roman Catholic Church,” hosted speaker Fr. Daniel Ward, OSB, a Benedictine monk and priest with at least five allegations of sexual abuse. The group did this despite being warned in a letter that the Benedictines had launched an investigation and that Marker had collected statements from the victims.
Ward’s presentation: A Diocese, a Parish, a Religious Institute, a Member: An Exploration of Canon and Civil Law is telling—his “exploration of Canon and civil law” seems to be a study on how to hide assets when a diocese is rocked by a sex abuse and cover-up scandal.
How does he know so much? Well, not only has he represented predator monks himself, but he also counsels church groups on sexual misconduct and asset reallocation. And who would know better?
The CLSA owes a huge explanation to its membership, who they thought would never catch wind of the allegations. The Benedictines need to be held accountable as well—one of their priests is under investigation for numerous allegations of abuse, yet they have warned NO ONE and allow Ward to live freely in Silver Spring, MD (home of the infamous St. Luke’s Institute, a treatment center for child-molesting clerics).
Ward and Taylor Under Investigation
Posted on October 10, 2012
www.behindthepinecurtain.com/wordpress/ward-and-taylor-under-investigation/
Father Dan Ward, OSB and Father Mel Taylor OSB, both priests/monks from Saint John’s Abbey in Collegeville, Minnesota (USA) are under investigation following claims of sexual and other misconduct. The investigations were commissioned with the knowledge of Abbot John Klassen and Bishop John Kinney from the Diocese of Saint Cloud.
10/12 Update: Fox 9 News Report [see below]
For years, Father Dan Ward has been one of the American-Cassinese Congregation’s top legal strategist. He does the same for religious around the world in his role as executive director at the RCRI.
At least five men and one woman allege misconduct by Father Dan Ward …
Just days after the Father Dan Ward investigation began in October, Father Ward was scheduled to speak at a Canon Law Society of America (CLSA) conference in Chicago, Illinois.
See webmaster’s letter to the CLSA… www.behindthepinecurtain.com/wordpress/letter-to-clsa-regarding-dan-ward-investigation/
At least two men allege misconduct by Father Mel Taylor …
Just days after the Father Mel Taylor investigation began in August, Father Taylor fled to Ireland.
Abbot John Klassen may also be willing to provide that information. Keep in mind, however, that Abbot Klassen has covered up misconduct in the past.
Related Posts: See www.behindthepinecurtain.com/wordpress/ward-and-taylor-under-investigation/
Allegations of sexual misconduct bring two monks under investigation
Posted on October 12, 2012
www.behindthepinecurtain.com/wordpress/allegations-of-sexual-misconduct-bring-two-monks-under-investigation/
(Fox 9) COLLEGEVILLE, Minn – Two monks from St. John’s Abbey in Collegeville, Minnesota are under investigation for sexual misconduct allegations that date back decades.
At this point the investigation to look into the two monks, Father Mel Taylor and Father Dan Ward, is being conducted by an attorney hired by the Abbey, not law enforcement.
The two have been with associated with the Abbey since the 1960s.
In June, the St. Cloud Diocese announced Father Taylor would return from the Bahamas, where he had spent the previous 20 years, to take over as priest of St. John the Baptist Church in Collegeville.
That is when one allegation involving a St. John’s student from the early 1980s, and another from his time in the Bahamas involving another monk, surfaced.
“We became aware of them shortly after we had published the appointment of Father Mel Taylor in our diocesan paper,” said St. Cloud Diocese Vicar General Father Robert Rolofus. “Within a few days after that we learned of the alleged allegations and at that point we made the decision to put the appointment on hold until the internal investigation that St. John’s was going to do would be completed.”
It was only days before the St. Cloud Diocese learned of the allegations that Father Taylor was confronted by the former monk who brought the accusations against him, during his last mass in the Bahamas. Father Taylor left the next day, and is believed to be in Ireland.
The allegations against Father Ward come from five men and two women, dating back to the 1970s, all occurring at St. John’s, and include unwelcome advances, kissing, even threats of failing them in classes.
These allegations came to light through “Behind the Pine Curtain,” a web site run by a former St. John’s student, Patrick Marker, who himself brought allegations against the Abbey in 1991.
Source: www.myfoxtwincities.com/story/19809508/alleged-sexual