Marianist Truth

Here you can find out all of the information related to the ongoing scandal regarding the Marianist order and Chaminade College Prep.

SNAP is holding a public meeting to educate others about the situation as well as a support group meeting in St. Louis:

• PUBLIC MEETING: Wednesday, Feb. 15 at the Creve Coeur Community Center (300 N New Ballas Rd Creve Coeur, MO 63141)  at 6:30 PM. 
• CONFIDENTIAL SUPPORT GROUP: Thursday, Feb. 16 at the St. Louis Co. public library in Clayton (7821 Maryland Ave, St. Louis, 63105) at 6:30 PM

List of the 8 accused Marianist priests (Thanks to Bishop-Accountability.org for this information):

• Fr. Charles H. Miller
• 
• Accused of grooming and fondling a girl at age 14 in St. Louis in 1976 and molesting her at age 17 in 1980 in the San Antonio TX archdiocese, where Miller taught at St. Mary's University. She reported the abuse to the Marianists in 2005. In 2007 the order admitted privately that the allegations were "credible." Order found that Miller had been involved with 2 other women. In 2007, order restricted Miller's ministry and moved him from St. Mary's in TX to the order's headquarters in Rome.

• Bro. Louis Meinhardt
• 
• Marianists announced 2/12 that a former student at Chaminade College Prep School had come forward 9/11 to allege sexual abuse by Br. Meinhardt and Br. John Woulfe in 1970s. Letters were sent to 1600 school alumni from between 1958 and 1982. At least15 -16 responded with credible allegations of verbal and sexual abuse by the two men. Meinhardt worked at the school from 1958 to 1982 and died in 1990. Original accuser against him had come forward in 2003 & 2009 and others had also come forward before 2011.

• Bro. John Woulfe
• 
• Sued 2002 by a man alleging sexual abuse by Woulfe and Rev. William A. Christensen at Chaminade Prep in St. Louis, when the boy was age 15-17. On appeal, the MO Supreme Court ruled that repressed memories were admissable and the suit was not time-barred. New accusations received 9/11 and confirmed by letters to school Alumni in 2012. Woulfe was at school for 9 yrs before leaving the Order in 1977. He died in 2005.

• Fr. William Christensen
• 
• Sued 2002 by a man alleging sexual abuse by Christensen and Br. John J. Woulfe at Chaminade Prep in St. Louis, when the boy was age 15-17. MO Supreme Court reversed an earlier decision and ruled that repressed memories were admissable and the suit was not time-barred. Abuse allegedly included oral sex, anal sodomy, and viewing porn. Christensen not served with suit until 10/07. Lived & worked in Bangladesh for 20 yrs. Abused 30 there. Laicized 2010.

• Fr. Robert R. Osborne
• 
• Accused of abuse and sued 2006 by 1 man. 2nd complainant also came forward. President of Vianney high school when suit filed. School asked him to leave 8/06 because the lawsuit would distract from his job. In 10/06 Prosecutor found no evidence to support criminal charges. Civil suit settled with Order 6/07 but he did not admit guilt. As of 2/08, he claimed to be chaplain for Kirkwood Police Dept. Still saying Mass 11.08. Faculties removed 5/09 by St. Louis after news of previous investigation.

• Bro. William Mueller
• 
• Order & Diocese sued many times in 2005 & 2006. Accused of abuse of at least 40 students in 1960s-1970s. He would drug them & then abuse them. He left order in 1986. Some litigation was filed in TX and MO where he also worked. Allegations report that diocese knew as early as 2002. 22nd suit filed end of 1/07. Order investigating move from MO to Pueblo in 1960s. One MO suit settled 10/07. 23 suits settled 10/08 for $4M from order and Diocese. Another claim settled 8/10 for $500K.

• Fr. Daniel A. Triulzi
• Order placed him on leave from parish in Ft. Worth TX Diocese in Aug. 2005 after recent claim of sexual misconduct with a minor in 1996 at Chaminade College Prep School in St. Louis Diocese. Individual had just filed suit in in Circuit Court in St. Louis. When transferred to the Ft. Worth diocese, he taught at Nolan High school from 1983-1987 before going to parish. Suit settled fall, 2007 but not announced until 2/08.

• Bro. Tony Pistone
• 
• Pistone, campus minister at Chaminade Prep in St. Louis MO, left his job 3/05 after accusations that he had groped a youth at Nolan Catholic High School in Fort Worth TX in 1980s. Pistone denied the allegations; internal investigation could not substantiate. Director of West Hills CA Marianist community 2003-present as of 2/09. Briefly at province offices in St. Louis MO in 2007.

Links to SNAP statements about the current Marianist scandal:

• SNAP statement on Fr. Charles H. Miller - February 13, 2012
• SNAP responds to allegations against Marianist priest - February 7, 2012
• Family of St. Pete clergy sex victim gets settlement, SNAP responds - March 22, 2011.
• Victims to US attorney: Investigate predator priest - January 19, 2011
• Lawsuit announced against Bro. Mueller - May 5, 2010
• SNAP Statement about Charles Miller - February 16, 2009
• St. Louis Vianney/Osborne/Marianists Fact Sheet - November 11, 2008

Text of the letter sent to Chaminade alumni

If you know anyone who attends or attended Marianist schools (St. Mary's, McBride, Chaminade or Vianney) or Marianist parishes (Our Lady of Pillar in west county), please send them this letter. If you don't, please circulate it to any current or former Catholics you know, even if they no longer live in St. Louis. Thanks

Dear Chaminade Alum:

We are sorry to intrude and bring up a very painful subject. We know it’s hard when your alma mater attracts unpleasant public attention. But we also know that child sex crimes happen in secrecy and that openness helps protect the vulnerable and heal the wounded.

That’s why we’re writing you: to help stop innocent kids from being harmed, stop predators from walking free, and stop wounded adults from suffering in isolation, shame, confusion and self-blame.

Specifically, we want to invite you – and anyone else who attended or cares about Chaminade (or Vianney or McBride or St. Mary’s – all of which were or are run by Marinanists) – to an open public meeting this Wednesday (2/15)at the Creve Coeur Community Center on New Ballas Rd.

If you were sexually violated by a cleric (Marianist or otherwise), we also invite you to a closed, private, confidential self help meeting on Thursday (2/16) at the St. Louis County public library in Clayton.

(Both meetings start at 6:30 p.m. Thursday’s is for victims. Wednesday’s is for anyone. Please spread the word.)

And we’re begging you to please pass the word about these events to anyone else who attended one of these schools, especially those who dropped out, moved away or may have shown any signs of possible abuse or trauma.

If you can’t make either meeting, here’s our advice: If you have seen, suspected or suffered abuse or wrongdoing, please call police, prosecutors, therapists or us.  There is help available, you can get better, and no one needs to be struggle alone. Keeping silent helps and protects no one. Healing can happen, but the first step is breaking your silence with someone you trust. (We strongly urge you to NOT call church or school officials first.)

Please resist the temptation to minimize what some have experienced. It doesn’t have to involve penetration or repetitive acts to be abusive and hurtful. Misplaced “macho” assumptions help no one.

We care about the safety of innocent kids and the well-being of wounded adults.  We encourage you to come to these meetings, hear the facts, and get some guidance. Please tell your classmates about these events. Thanks much.

David Clohessy, 7234 Arsenal Street, St. Louis MO 63143 (566 9790, [email protected]

Barbara Dorris, 6245 Westminster Place, St. Louis, MO 63130 (503 0003, [email protected])

P.S. At least 8 Marianists here are publicly named as credibly accused predators – Fr. Charles Miller, Brother Louis Meinhardt, Brother John J. Woulfe, Fr. William Christensen, Fr. Robert R. Osborne, Brother William Mueller, Fr. Daniel A. Triulzi, & Brother Tony Pistone. (Meinhardt was publicly exposed for the first time just last week.) Learn more at BishopAccountability.org or http://www.SNAPnetwork.org/marianisttruth

Missouri Suicide Hotlines:

• CENTRAL & SOUTHEAST MISSOURI - 1-800-356-5395
• COLUMBIA - 1-800-395-2132
• EASTERN MISSOURI - 1-800-811-4760
• ST. LOUIS - (314) 647-4357 (HELP) 
• WESTERN MISSOURI - 1-888-279-8188