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madhatmatt2 t1_j06u2bn wrote

Reply to comment by spitfish in Diocese of Worcester: Credible Allegations of Sexual Abuse of Minor by Priest by MassInsider

It’s not lol no priests live on campus it’s not even that like force religion on you you have to go to mass a few times a year with the entire school but that’s it lol. There’s even LGBTQ clubs. It honestly was a very progressive school. I graduated from there 2 years ago. Anybody saying that there is sexual abuse going on at saint johns obviously didn’t go there and has no idea how it’s run. As someone who was is an atheist I would defend saint johns. At no point would a student be in a situation where they could be assaulted by a religious figure or priest nor does the fact that it’s a religious school mean high school students would be any more likely than any other high school in Worcester.

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Wxzowski t1_j06uu08 wrote

Just because it didn’t happen to you doesn’t mean it never happened to anyone else lol

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[deleted] t1_j0kg5nl wrote

Ugh say it louder. I swear, people really get stupidly defensive over shit cuz they can't think beyond "it didn't happen to me" or "I never heard of that."

Well the world doesn't revolve around you, jerkasses.

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mtbmike t1_j070jm8 wrote

Graduated 78 and i know of two.

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madhatmatt2 t1_j080u4l wrote

That was 44 years ago I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s past cases of it happening but today there’s no way. Saint johns has turned into a school where wealthy parents send their troubled kid it would spread like wildfire if a student was raped by a priest in today day and age and it’s just not the same school it was 50 years ago.

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CoolAbdul t1_j085kn5 wrote

They're monks, not priests. And there aren't any of them left these days. And yes, it is not the same school it was back in the day. It is much more of a targeted product these days, competing with Bancoft, not SPM. But the schol has a deep and hidden history, and if it ever got out the brand would be permanently damaged.

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Wxzowski t1_j08dmpv wrote

Im sure people said the same thing about Penn state

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Fact420 t1_j07zzuk wrote

I graduated 16 years ago and we had a Phys Ed teacher that would watch us shower and make you dry off with paper towels in front of him if you forgot a towel. Is that still a thing?

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ace_vagrant t1_j091xv5 wrote

Loftus?

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Fact420 t1_j0j9nf5 wrote

I think he did it too, but I had Foley Jr.

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[deleted] t1_j0kbhjb wrote

Honestly, all the gym teachers were hella-weird like that...

Also I'm pretty sure I recall hearing about one gym teacher who unfortunately committed suicide. Wouldn't surprise me if SJ's culture drove him to that...

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Fact420 t1_j0lxq9s wrote

You might be talking about Coach Thomas. I’m not sure how he passed but it fits in with the timeline. Coach T was the man though, I was gonna say he was the only one I never heard any of that shit about.

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ICOrthogonal t1_j09n6sl wrote

…and another ex marine who later went on to become some sort of Dean of Discipline there. Violence/physical intervention was never more than a moment away with that one.

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[deleted] t1_j0kbfhy wrote

I remember that guy. He once freaked out and gave me detention cuz my hair wasn't short enough for the dress code. It was literally almost a damn buzz cut.

Dude was a power tripping psychopath.

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madhatmatt2 t1_j086434 wrote

No they put individual stalls in the shower rooms. I do remember my older brother talk about that though.

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[deleted] t1_j0kbjxa wrote

They did? Damn, I remember those showers being crowded communal spaces. Good times...

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CoolAbdul t1_j07dw7v wrote

>As someone who was is an atheist

In my experience, a giant percentage of SJ grads end up atheists. It's kind of fascinating.

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TrueNateDogg t1_j07rz65 wrote

Can confirm, I am one! Catholicism makes it really easy. I also turned out bisexual too, and learned that they were denying gay couples to the prom just after I graduated in 2012!

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CoolAbdul t1_j07t37n wrote

The brothers were one thing, but once the lay folks took over, the school got this really creepy hybrid evangelical vibe. The headmaster at the time had a lot to do with it. From what I have heard the vibe still persists because of some uber-catholic parents.

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[deleted] t1_j0kc9ke wrote

You mean Welch? That guy always did seem really off.

But he was very alumni-focused and I'm pretty sure he pushed the religious shit cuz he saw money in that.

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CoolAbdul t1_j0n74d5 wrote

Yes, but also I think he was a True Believer.

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madhatmatt2 t1_j083bwi wrote

I absolutely agree with you on that sj has a way of doing that to kids. The other thing I noticed is that a lot of kids hate it when they are there but are glad they went when they get older.

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CoolAbdul t1_j0864h6 wrote

YMMV. I got a very good education, both bookwise - good - and in the ways of people - bad. The school has one standard for the favored kids and another for the other kids. It has always been this way and continues to this day. And there are several schools with equal academic rigor that don't have the poisonous SJ culture.

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[deleted] t1_j0kckol wrote

"The school has one standard for the favored kids and another for the other kids."

Holy shit, SO true. This may just be me, but I always found it toxic as hell how they frequently awarded and lifted up a small handful of kids who excelled.

Like, my class was hundreds but always had the same couple dozen kids getting stupid amounts of attention. For lack of better word, it felt extremely neglectful of the rest of us.

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Unable-Bison-272 t1_j0arf0a wrote

Kind of a decent life lesson. People will treat you better if they like you.

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CoolAbdul t1_j0b4ru1 wrote

People will treat you better if your parents are wealthy donors.

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[deleted] t1_j0kcsoa wrote

Man, I remember some sports teams in my years had captains that weren't even damn starters. Guess how many had millionaire families? ALL of them.

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[deleted] t1_j0kc22l wrote

Cuz you grow up and realize how insulated you were in that place and how full of shit they were. I got caught up in all their religious bullshit, but now realize they were just groomers with extra steps.

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CoolAbdul t1_j0n6xp5 wrote

Some, I think, were decent men. Plunkett and More struck me as good people. Neri too.

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Enragedocelot t1_j09hniq wrote

> There’s even LGBTQ clubs

Fuck man, years ago I fought tooth and nail for the creation of one of those clubs.

Also then having clubs doesn’t do your argument any justice lol. Like they don’t equate.

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[deleted] t1_j0kdcs4 wrote

I attended during the 00s right at the height of the gay marriage stuff. Being out of the closet would've literally gotten me killed. The fact that there's clubs there now is fucking surreal to me.

Then again, $100 says such clubs are extremely monitored. I know of other schools that have literal campus ministers as leaders who not-so-subtly try to convert members to being straight and/or religious. If it isn't the same at SJ, I will be surprised.

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[deleted] t1_j0kdjis wrote

"it’s not even that like force religion on you"

Okay I stopped reading here. Bullshit, yes they do.

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ICOrthogonal t1_j09n0dc wrote

I went there in the 80’s and 90’s. There was active abuse during my entire four years. Occasionally I get a letter from some sort of law office disclosing more/owning up to some of what went on.

There are many skeletons in their history. I don’t know what they are like today.

> No priests live on campus.

Fascinating. During my time there, I’m not sure about priests….but there were many brothers (monks?) of the Xaverian order living in a building connected to the school. There was a small chapel there too. There were many more living there than who taught. Do they no longer live on prem?

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[deleted] t1_j0kgmo9 wrote

Some Brothers were still there as late as the 00s when I attended. Rarely saw them though, you would've thought they didn't live there.

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