Minnesota Church Won’t Investigate Priest

February 11, 2011 9:50 PM

From the Link: http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2011/02/11/minnesota-church-wont-investigate-priest/

Bloggers note: David Jarobe committed suicide because of this. He is one of the suicide victims I have reported on at my blog Voices From the Grave: Suicide Victims of the Catholic Church.

Suicide Victim of the Catholic Church David M Jarboe Jr.

OWENSBORO, Ky. (AP) — The Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis is not planning to investigate a priest from the state who was named in a Facebook posting by a man before he shot himself to death in a Kentucky church parking lot. But a Kentucky diocese plans to continue with its investigation of the man’s allegations.

Archdiocese spokesman Dennis McGrath told The Messenger-Inquirer newspaper there was no justification for an investigation into the Rev. William Baer, former rector of St. John Vianney College Seminary at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota, where David M. Jarboe had once been a student.

The 23-year-old Jarboe shot himself in the parking lot of Blessed Mother Catholic Church in Owensboro, Ky. on Feb. 3.

His Facebook posting mentioned Baer and two other priests, one of whom he praises, as well as pain as a result of sexual abuse in the church. The Kentucky man didn’t accuse a specific priest or other individual of abuse in the note.

“I mean, because he was critical of Father Baer in his Facebook post does not make the giant leap that he was responsible for whatever happened to him,” McGrath told the newspaper. “… Father Baer is one of our finest, most popular priests.”

McGrath said Baer was well-respected and was instrumental in St. John Vianney College Seminary’s growth when he was there.

The “poor bedeviled young man, for him to mention (Father Baer) in the same context with whatever may have happened to him is so unfortunate and so unfair,” the archdiocese spokesman said of Jarboe.

Jarboe mentioned three priests in the note. To the first one, whom he identified as Father Fedewa, Jarboe wrote: “Thanks for proving to me what dedicating your life to Christ can be like. Thanks for your service to the Church.”

To Baer, “you get no thanks. You are an evil man. Period.”

To the third, the Rev. Freddie Byrd, “I forgive you.”

Baer, now at Transfiguration Catholic Church in Oakdale, Minn., did not immediately respond to an e-mail request for comment.

Byrd was pastor of Blessed Mother from 1998-2008. According to the diocese’s website, he is pastor of St. Peter of Antioch and Sacred Heart parishes in Waverly, Ky.

He declined to comment when reached by the newspaper at the St. Peter of Antioch church rectory Wednesday.

The Diocese of Owensboro announced Monday it is utilizing an independent investigator to examine the allegations made by Jarboe. The Daviess County Commonwealth Attorney’s Office has asked the Owensboro Police Department to investigate as well.

The Diocese of Owensboro has been in contact with the Rev. Peter A. Laird, vicar general of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, McGrath said.

 

Letter to Catholic Church officials calls for Timothy Backous’ removal from ministry

By Jesse Marx Wed., Jun. 11 2014 at 7:00 AM

From the link: http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2014/06/letter_father_timothy_backous_removal_from_ministry.php

In March, two top Catholic Church officials in Minnesota sat down with the editorial board of the St. Cloud Times to discuss the ongoing clergy sex abuse scandal. Bishop Donald Kettler of the St. Cloud Diocese and Abbot John Klassen of St. John’s Abbey both agreed — there were no priests left in ministry with creditable accusations against them.

Chris and Kathy McDermid, both retired school teachers who live in St. Cloud, were incredulous when they heard the news and incensed when they later found out that Father Timothy Backous had presided over a Memorial Day weekend Mass at the Basilica of St. Mary.

In a letter dated May 31, the McDermids allege that Backous sexually abused their son, in the summer of 1990, on a trip to Germany and Austria. Their son, they say, was traveling with the St. John’s Boys’ Choir and Backous had tagged along as a chaperone.

On return from the European tour our son was noticeably different. His demeaner (sic) had drastically changed. He was deeply disturbed, physically violent, and had angry outbursts which was not behavior he exhibited prior to the tour. We were horrified when he told us that he had been sexually abused by Father Backous.

The McDermids also allege that they reported the abuse to the Stearns County Sheriff’s Office to no avail. The couple contends that officials at St. John’s Abbey then promised to send Backous away for treatment and bar him from any further interaction with children. Unbeknownst to the McDermits, though, the abbey kept Backous in a teaching position and put him in charge of the St. John’s Preparatory School between 2006 and 2013.

Photo of Fr. Timothy Backous presiding over Mass at the Basilica of St. Mary, courtesy of behindthepinecurtain.com

In coming forward, the McDermids asked that their son’s name be protected. They say he no longer lives in Minnesota and is 36, which would have made him 12 on that trip to Europe in 1990.

“Since the life-changing events that occurred decades ago, our family has done its best to pick up the pieces and be supportive to our son,” the couple wrote. “It is difficult as parents, knowing what he’s going through and watching him suffer.”

A message left with Backous was not returned Tuesday. When reached for comment, Klassen released a statement in which he expresses sympathy for the family but defends his underling. The abbot says he’s worked alongside Backous for years and seen his “many, many interactions with children and young people,” and continues:

I have also reviewed the reports from nearly 25 years ago when the allegations of inappropriate conduct against Father Backous were first presented. The allegations were not substantiated. Father Backous has no restrictions placed upon him. I have absolute confidence in his integrity and character.

Jim Accurso, a spokesman for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, which also received a copy of the letter, says he’s looking into it. “Father Backous is a priest in good standing and that is why he’s saying Mass at the Basilica,” Accurso says, adding, “These charges are new to us.”

In a separate statement, Auxiliary Bishop Andrew Cozzens states,

We seek to obtain more information surrounding this accusation and how it was addressed by the Order of Saint Benedict. We believe this is a prudent response and is consistent with our commitment to protect children and help in healing.

The McDermids are asking that church officials remove Backous, once and for all, from ministry. “I can’t even describe it,” Kathy tells us in a phone interview. “We were angry and just really sad to think that they would go against their word.”

Chris’ voice pops through a second receiver in the McDermit’s home: “We just hope that Father Timothy Backous would have no further access to children. It’s gotta stop.”

STATEMENT OF BISHOP ANDREW COZZENS REGARDING FATHER TIMOTHY BACKOUS, O.S.B.
June 11, 2014

Approximately a week ago, Archbishop John Nienstedt received a letter from a couple who claimed their son was abused by Rev. Timothy Backous, O.S.B., a priest of St. John’s Abbey in Collegeville, MN. The parents claimed their son was abused while on a youth choir trip while they were members of a parish in Saint Cloud. The accusation indicates the alleged abuse occurred more than 20 years ago, and the parents stated they contacted the police. The family wrote that it was contacting the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis because they had recently seen Rev. Backous, O.S.B. celebrating Mass at the Basilica of Saint Mary in Minneapolis, and were disappointed with the way St. John’s Abbey handled their complaint. The O.S.B. is an order of priests separate from the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis and operates out of Saint John’s Abbey in Saint Cloud, MN.

Immediately after receiving the letter, we checked our priest files and found a letter from Saint John’s Abbey (which is part of the Order of Saint Benedict) had been sent to us indicating Rev. Backous was a priest in good standing before he was granted permission to minister in the archdiocese.

We seek to obtain more information surrounding this accusation and how it was addressed by the Order of Saint Benedict. We believe this is a prudent response and is consistent with our commitment to protect children and help in healing.

Any further questions about Rev. Backous should be referred to Saint John’s Abbey in Collegeville, MN.

We continue to pray for all involved.