<p>The only victim in this matter is Father Mark Gruber. In time, this matter will be resolved on behalf of the victim and on the side of truth and justice. Those who know Father Mark Gruber for the outstanding teacher and priest that he is have no fear that those who have maligned him will need to face themselves in their own dark mirrors.</p> <p>One can only wonder about whose mouths, hitherto silent concerning this current SVC administration, will now open to speak the truth.</p> <p>The article, today's Tribune Review, <strong><em>appearing below is misleading and inaccurate</em></strong>. It states of the police incident report: "A prelilminary examination of the computer by police showed visits to sites in Russia and the Czech Republic where child pornography is sometimes found...". </p> <p><strong>In actual fact, however, the sites (Russian, Czech) mentioned above were provided to the state police by Eddy DejThai, Douglas Nowicki, and James Towey BEFORE the State Police confiscated Fr. Mark's Seminar Room computer. That is to be seen quite clearly in the Police incident report</strong>. </p> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> <p>This forum must be commended for protecting Father Mark's good name to this point. The matter is now public record. </p> <p><a href="http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/westmoreland/s_655124.html">www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/westmoreland/s_655124.html</a></p> </div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><strong>Fate of St. Vincent College priest-professor rests in Vatican</strong></div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">The fate of a St. Vincent College professor suspended from teaching and stripped of his functions as a priest because of alleged sexual misconduct rests with Vatican officials, according to St. Vincent Archabbot Douglas Nowicki.</div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">At issue is the future of the Rev. Mark Gruber, 53, an associate professor of anthropology who was the subject of an investigation earlier this year that ended with state police saying their findings "did not support the allegations against him," according to a police report. Police indicated they would not pursue criminal charges against Gruber at that time.</div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">In July, college President James Towey, Nowicki and other college officials met with police to discuss allegations Gruber was using a college computer "to view child pornography," according to a police report.</div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">At the time, Gruber told police, "I would be surprised to learn if there were any child porn on my computer," the report states.</div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">Police said Gruber's computer is in a seminar room adjacent to his office and is used by others.</div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">"It is apparent that others had access to the computer," police said.</div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">Although police "found no evidence of any crime and no access to child porn sites" they did find photos and videos of nude young men who all appeared to be over the age of 18, the police report states.</div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">" ... the exact ages of the young males depicted in these materials could not be precisely determined," college spokesman Don Orlando said. "Therefore, the college was advised by the state police that they declined to prosecute the case at that time."</div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">Gruber has not been available to talk about the case and his attorney, Sharon Smith of Mt. Lebanon, would not comment about the probe or her client's next step.</div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">Orlando said Gruber used his own user name and password to repeatedly access the Web sites.</div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">"Because of the graphic nature of the pornographic Web sites repeatedly visited, it is a matter of grave concern vis-a-vis church law," Orlando said.</div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">Gruber is a priest and monk with St. Vincent Archabbey, which operates the oldest Benedictine monastery in the United States on the St. Vincent College campus near Latrobe. Nowicki heads the archabbey and directs the assignments of its monks and priests.</div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">"It has not been my practice to discuss publicly the basis for decisions pertaining to the assignment of monks in the archabbey. I will continue that tradition," Nowicki said. "I will ... say that because Father Mark's conduct potentially involves the violation of church law, the matter has been referred to the appropriate office with the Holy See."</div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">Meanwhile, St. Vincent College officials are being urged by a national educators' group to reconsider Gruber's suspension from teaching at the school.</div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">In a letter to Towey, the American Association of University Professors said Gruber's removal is "at odds" with policies outlined in the school's faculty handbook because he has not had a formal hearing on the matter.</div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">Orlando said the association "has no authority or jurisdiction concerning the assignment of monks in the archabbey. Father Gruber's role as a professor has to take into account his role as a monk and priest."</div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">Nicholas Cafardi, a professor at the Duquesne University School of Law and expert in canon law, said Gruber, as a priest, takes a vow of obedience to Nowicki and "those vows are going to trump any kind of faculty handbook rights."</div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">Dr. Matt Fisher, president of the St. Vincent faculty council, would not discuss Gruber's case.</div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">Diocese of Greensburg Bishop Lawrence Brandt and Nowicki agreed to strip Gruber of his priestly functions, such as celebrating Mass or hearing confessions, Orlando said. He is barred from campus and from having any contact with students, according to court documents filed by his attorneys.</div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">Diocese of Greensburg spokesman Jerry Zufelt would not comment on the matter.</div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">At the July meeting with police, St. Vincent's information and technology director said it appeared a "wiping" program had been used to remove the files from Gruber's computer hard drive.</div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">A preliminary examination of the computer by police showed visits to sites in Russia and the Czech Republic where child pornography is sometimes found, the incident report states.</div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">B. Robert Kreizer, associate secretary of the professors' association, said his group will begin a formal investigation if St. Vincent fails to reinstate Gruber to his teaching post. The association is a nationwide group of academics who promote academic freedom and professional standards in higher education.</div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">Gruber, who has written seven books and holds a doctorate in anthropology, has been on sabbatical this semester but has been living in St. Vincent Archabbey, according to Smith.</div>
<p>My question is what were they doing looking at the activity on a professor's computer in the first place. Are they looking at all of the professor's computers? Staff computers? Student computers? Monks computers?</p> <p>The word on campus is that the Abbot told the faculty in a meeting that there was no "criminal" content on Fr. Mark's computer, but some "questionable" matter. Crap. One man's questionable matter can be another's research material or matter accrued by accident through legitimate searches.</p> <p>It is also on campus (and the Abbot might even have said this to the faculty - I understand that comprehensive notes were taken) that the IS people (namely Dejthai) were looking for one thing but found the "quesionable sites" serendipitously ("serendipitously" is a word that was used by one in sympathy with the Towey regime.</p> <p>Does that mean that we all get monitored for whatever reason and then get crucified because they "serendiptiously" find "objectionable" material on our computers?</p> <p>Something about this affair has an odor. Maybe it's time for good men and women to clear the air. Perhaps, however, some will choose to live in fear all their lives.</p>
Fr. Mark's disagreements with the current regime are well-known. The campus CIO tries to run a firewall that would turn the Chinese Politburo green with envy. (Fr. Mark doesn't strike me as the kind to run a Tor node.) Local and state law enforcement aren't even bothering to pursue this. <p> Funny, I don't remember anything in the Rule of St. Benedict about settling old scores. <p> Maybe Mike Nifong recently found a new job.
As a staff member of Saint Vincent College, I have visited fr.mark's office for years and even used his computer. I never had to log on to it because his username was always left on. Over the years, plenty of faculty and staff members have used the computer with Fr. Mark being there and without him being there while his username was logged on. Don Orlando's comments are not accurate in any sense of the word.
<p>It was in that article Doug where Fr. Mark speaks with candor concerning the current regime. He also is a signatory on the faculty letter. He also helped conduct the faculty evaluations of the president (who received abysmal ratings) and the current VPAA (also low). He elucidated the results of the evaluations before the board.</p> <p>I would sit and be patient until something comes your way.</p> <p>And, Birddogg, you are absolutely correct... Father Mark was usually logged on with his password on his seminar computer all day and through the night. It was rarely turned off. Many used the computer at all hours. It seems that the Police report makes this totally clear.</p> <p>Orlando (or the person dictating what he has to say) states that: "Gruber used his own user name and password to repeatedly access the Web sites..." What a silly obfuscation, if not a misrepresentation since it was determined that the seminar machine remained active in Gruber's name for long periods of time.</p> <p>Orlando as Messenger also says: "the college was advised by the state police that they declined to prosecute the case<strong> at that time." </strong>The phrase "at that time" is misleading. It gives the impression that something might occur at another time. The police report is clear... their investigation is finished, absolutely, and they say so in the report.</p> <p>Yet, even with that clearly stated in the report, the parties in the room, apparently mainly the Abbot and Towey, "requested to conduct further examination to determine who was looking at any pornography, as well as identify the other e-mail accounts of the computer system" The response to them by the officer was "I then related that neither of those acts was a crime and therefore no further analysis be be completed," The officers close with "Due to lack of evidence that a crime has occurred, this investigation is closed."</p> <p>That the complaining parties should make such a request for obtain other email accounts etc, reflects, in my opinion, the sort of paranoid horror the campus has been subjected to since the arrival of the current academic regime.</p> <p>Paranoid horrors? Gestapo tactics? Hooverian procedures? Faculty members disconnect their phones at the college whenever the hold conversations in their offices. People meet in corners to talk. Everyone uses a cell phone these days. Faculty and staff have long suspected that their computers are being monitored. This is Saint Vincent College, 2006-2009. One man is responsible for this (pray God that he departs many months before he has plans to), plus the two or three who are in collusion, who have enabled. How many corroborations have there been concerning these things... how many are yet to come? When will justice be served on those who have effected the virtual assassination of a good and holy man. Shame. Shame. Shame.</p> <p>One other curiosity remains... even after the police had obtained Fr. Mark's seminar computer, those in charge of Information Services sent personnel to Fr. Mark's seminar room to seek another computer. How puzzling? </p> <p> </p>
Drew is correct. That has been the case for years. And the door unlocked. Many of the Benedictine faculty members leave, or left, their doors unlocked. It is called trust--and hospitality. Both have been sorely tried under the current administration. Who can follow the Rule, based as it is on the notion of cooperation, when the abbot encourages such totalitarian administration?
I think the best thing for us to do at this point is to sincerely pray for him and for the truth of his innocence to be brought to light. I know Fr. Gruber quite well and am very familiar with the way he left his office open for just about anyone. If he is guilty of anything, it's that he trusted people who could very well abuse his trust. He has done much to sincerely defend the church in a faithful and compelling way.
What bothers me the most about this situation is the apparent disregard the abbot is showing for one of his own flock. He ought to know the good Fr. Gruber has done for his church, and he ought to believe Fr. Gruber's claims of innocence. Why isn't the abbot in Fr. Gruber's corner here, seeking to validate his innocence rather than take him down? It is shameful that he would abandon Fr. Gruber, possibly condemn him, rather than defend and help him. It does not sound as though "innocent until proven guilty" is really what the abbot or the administration is concerned about. It sounds as though they are glad to remove him. Terrible.
Reading this again out loud to my spouse, with disgust, I have a few observations:
1. The AAUP is now involved. Good. This, to me, is not surprising, but I was not aware of this.
2. Orlando's response to the AAUP is what every college that is censured says.
3. So... Gruber is not allowed on campus but is living in the "archabbey?" Huh?
4. Everyone else seems to be quiet about this except for the college administration.
5. So... did the campus pornography filter not work?
6. A public area computer seems to be a really stupid place for a priest to go and look at child pornography, no?
7. The abbot is sitting in his office right now, thinking that this article makes him look good. (How? Average Joe reader reads this article and says, 'finally, someone is taking care of these queer predator priests.')
I mean, this is the thing. You can't get pornography on the computers, and somehow the powers that be seem to know that there is pornography on a particular computer, and the exact nature of the pornography is questionable, yet everyone that talks from the college speaks with an air of certainty. There's more than a holy ghost haunting around there.
<p><strong>The only thing the article makes clear is that the administration sooner or later had to let the story out.</strong></p> <p>What it might not have expected is the subheading that says <strong>"Allegations against St. Vincent prof not supported, police say."</strong></p> <p>Towey, the first to be referenced in the police report, and who apparently controlled the meeting with the police, DejThai, the Abbot and the assistant to the Abbot, related to the police that there was "reason to believe that Father Mark Gruber.... was utilizing a college computer to view child pornography."</p> <p><strong>The police investigator found absolutely no evidence of child pornography on the computer in Father Mark's seminar room</strong>... <strong>thus, there was could have been no victim.</strong> The police <strong>absolutely</strong> closed the investigation. <strong>Yet, the Abbot persists</strong> in pursuing the issue based on what he has called "questionable" images. <strong>The police also noted that NOTHING could be ascribed to Father Mark's use since the computer had been used by many people.</strong></p> <p><strong>Yet, the Abbot persists.</strong></p> <p>Orlando's statement (dictated to him probably by the Abbot and Towey or both) ventures into the realm of the worst sort of obfuscation, that Gruber "used his own user name and password to access websites." <strong>DUH!</strong> It ought to have sunk in by now that Father Mark's computer was never, if ever, turned off, and he rarely logged off. Moreover, even if he had, a number of students and student aides used the seminar room computer, logging on using Father Mark's login and password.</p> <p>While we are on the subject.. The poice report clearly shows that Towey is the first spokesman for the administration. Actually, he appears to be in control of the meeting, ultimately consenting to allow the police to examine the computer.</p> <p>Why, one is compelled to ask, is he not offering a statrement in the recent Tribune Review article. How many bucks does he have left to pass?</p> <p>And, it's wonderful that some folks here are posting that they have used the computer in Father Mark's seminar room. But now is not the time to remain pseudonymous.</p>
<p>As someone who works in IT, if this computer was connected to a network, then these sites could have been placed on this computer via the network. No one had to actually access it directly for this to happen. Of course, you do need admin privs to do this.</p> <p>Also, if there is a firewall in place, then someone visiting those sites would be recorded there Dates, times, ip addresses, all of this would be on the firewall. </p>
This is the biggest frame job ever. It's such a shame that Fr. Mark's good reputation is ruined. Is it all because he spoke out against Towey? If that's so, why would anybody at SVC (Socialist Vincent College) say anything again.
<p>Apparently they had been monitoring Fr. Mark's computer for some time from the IT department (DeJthai and probably Grace) looking for a wonderfully satiric letter that some people found offensivie. They didn't find it, because it wasn't there and never was. The other "stuff" they found "serendipitously" according to the Abbot and his spokespersons. The satiric was addressed to James Harry and "signed" and attributed to "Campion"... word on campus is that "Campion" in the Satiric letter is the one who apparently made the request to begin an investigation of the letter's source. Apparently he suspected Fr. Mark as being the author, but he couldn't have been farther from the truth.</p> <p>The letter is full of "inside" information, most of if close to the truth, as most who have read it, including monks, agree.</p> <p>MamaBear is quite correct. Anyone in Information Services with administrative privileges, at least at SVC, can acess any computer on campus, adding or removing files without needing to know the login or the password of the computer's regular user.</p> <p>Has any one bothered to ask Eddie DeJthai for a review of the process that led him to the discovery of "questionable" materials on Fr. Mark's seminar room computer?</p> <p>Who judged the material to be "child porn?" The Police certainly found none?</p> <p>What violation is there of Church Law, as the Abbot says in his press statement?</p> <p>Why did they send (apparently DeJthai and Grace/Towey, or the VPAA el alia) send up on Tuesday July 28, to look for second computer in Fr. Mark's seminar room? (a second computer did not exist)?</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p>
<p>Funny how the powers that be at St. Vincent are so quick to take a very public "presumed guilty until proven innocent" approach to one of their own, in a matter that should be kept internal until more facts are known. Coincidentally, he just happens to be one of the gadflies who bring up questions about the powers that be.</p> <p>Funny how, in 2003, St. Vincent had no problem quietly sheltering Cardinal Bernard Law during the height of the child sex-abuse scandals, <em>after</em> his (in)action in stopping numerous abuses resulted in the unprecedented call for his resignation.</p> <p>It's interesting to see which scenario gets the more "proactive" response.</p> <p>On a slightly related note, check out St. Vincent's page on Facebook. Several people are rather <em>perturbed</em> that SVC is touting Dr. Harrigan's Thanksgiving missive, while at the same time shoving him out the back door. Looks like people are starting to sit up and take notice of the purge that's been going on at SVC.</p>
Another thing to consider: Mr. Dejthai is hardly an objective source of information. Not to be paranoid, but allow me one moment to don my tinfoil hat and take my laptop to my panic room. (To write this, I'll need to be comforted by my vast collection of teddy bears and shotguns...)
There. Did you know how easy it is to forge electronic records when you have universal permissions on any system?
Suppose my name is Eddie, and I want to frame you. It would probably be very easy for me to figure out what IP address your machine was using at a particular time of day (a DHCP server sending syslog messages to your own private server will help here), and then (*cough*) "update" the log of HTTP "Get" requests from that IP address with bogus data, like attempts to access " http://www.underagesnugglebunnies.ru " (or some such nonsense).
The only real issue would be to forge to update time of the files being doctored, but it's not impossible. All you really need to do is to make sure to set the time of day on the file server to something less than the time of the last update to the log file, so the time of the last modification to the log isn't out of whack. And make sure that previous logs with pristine information and correct timestamps simply disappear. Omnipotence has its privileges.
Couple these few simple tricks with very high attention to detail (can't leave anything behind, you know) and some social engineering (try phrases like "I'm the CIO! Why I would never violate trust like that!" and "Ye gods! Kid porn!"), and you too can achieve a control of the past that would have made George Orwell flinch.
First of all, just a clarification for the sake of getting info correct. A couple of people have questioned why the porn filters wouldn't have come into play here. The porn filters only affect the dorm connections, not the faculty and admin offices (although there are other interesting exceptions as well...like all the wireless connections....and, oh, students living in Aurelius don't have filters, because they're on the same node as McKenna faculty in that building.
Second of all, as Dan C & others have pointed out, It would be pretty easy to plant stuff on a computer. Administrative access to the computers? Until recently we were told to leave our our computers on 24/7. Wonder why .
Told to leave computers on 24/7? I'd love to hear the reason behind that. There is debate among electricians as to whether leaving a computer on uses more electricity than turning it off. Those who look to minimize energy use would say turn the machine off. Others might say the stand by mode is easier on the computer. Was a reason given for leaving them on 24/7? Oh, wait--I'm dealing autocracy here. No reasons are necessary.
Bearcat4Evr, no need to apologize! I just wished to set the record straight on that part of the filtering. I have no other objections to other points in your posts!
Ah, hell, birddog....you want to know the reason for the 24/7 access to our computers? The reason given was pretty easy...so that IS could update software at will (e.g., software patches, virus updates, etc.). There actually is no direct evil associated with that practice. But, it does give others access, as other posters have pointed out.
Thanks, freddy. And I hope the Vatican notes that wide access to Gruber's computer. Trouble is, after the abuse scandals and the cover-ups, I'm losing confidence in the church to do the right thing.
Birddog, I'm hoping the church will take everything into account. If they do, Fr. Mark will be exonerated. I actually have some confidence that the church will do the right thing here. Call me an optimist.
<p>Dan C, et. al.,</p> <p>Good information of measures that could be used. From what I have been told, Dejthai is not as smart as Towey or his father in law Dennis Grace believes. If Dejthai did do anything as Dan C alleges (which is possible), it would be HIGHLY ILLEGAL.</p> <p>In the end, it's about TRUST of a CIO.</p>
<p>I've been reading through this thread and wondering why it is deterioriating into some plot out of a bad spy novel. One can speculate all one wants to about planted material, PC viruses, firewalls, spamwalls, he said, she said, a friend said, etc. None of it is relevant to the thread...</p> <p>Most of what is said here is pure speculation. If one wants to discuss the various merits or demerits of computer spying, what one can do from one's position as an administrator in IT, that's fine, but start it in another thread...</p> <p>This is the only thing that is clear, and that is mentioned by amenhotep at the beginning of the thread...</p> <p>The only victim here is father mark...</p> <p>What else is true:</p> <p>a) <strong>The police found absolutely no evidence of child porn on the seminar computer</strong>. , Even the Abbot has at least admitted as much in a Faculty Meeting. Any mention, therefore, of child porn, for any reason, in any context, in this thread is inappropriate and irrelevant.</p> <p>b) The police found nothing on the seminar computer that can be attributed to Father Mark. There were multiple users, and neither can it be determined who they were. Father Mark left the computer logged on under his password, and/or student aides and others logged on with Mark's name and password.</p> <p>c) The police closed the investigation because the administration's (Nowicki and Towey) allegations could not be supported by evidence. The investigation is absolutely and irrevocably closed.</p> <p>Rather than go one about irrelevancies and Grisham like speculations about setups and frame-ups and electronic surveilance and the competence or incompetence of CIOs, pay attention to what is closer to reality.</p> <p>Father Mark was denied due process. This is the AAUPs concern. The faculty handbook states a monk faculty member, once out of favor in the monastery, cannot appeal through faculty grievance procedures. How can a quick fall from favor occur. One way is to invoke the Dallas Accords, under which a prelate or religious superior is forced to act to remove a monk faculty member.</p> <p>What else is real? The abbot, in spite of all evidence or rather the lack of it, inspite of the lack of a victim, in spite of absolutely no evidence against Father Mark, persists in maintaining his wall of stone.</p> <p>Towey, DeJthai, maybe Grace, maybe Smetanka... they really don't matter anymore. Towey's going (maybe sooner than stated)... what matters is that justice prevails and Father Mark is reinstated on the faculty and as a priest..</p> <p>Speculating about 1984, and tapped phones, and listening devices, and CIOs framing people, and all that is just pure inconsequential bullshit.</p> <p>And please be careful (one will note a deletion or two) about comments like, "a faculty friend of mine told me..." Sometimes the source of information accompanying such a comment is very, very, very narrow... need I say more?</p>
Well, this is clearly a hatchet job on Fr. Mark. It was from the beginning--but now consider:
1. Who called the press and why now? This is months old--July!!!!!!!! The police won't do anything because they don't find anything illegal/not enough evidence. The AAUP is calling for a fair hearing. And the matter rests with the Vatican. This doesn't sound like the most breaking of news. The million dollar question is who picked up the phone and called the Trib? And why did they do it now?
2. "A preliminary examination of the computer by police showed visits to sites in Russia and the Czech Republic where child pornography is sometimes found . . . . " Is sometimes found? What the heck does that mean? It's no wonder the police declined to go any further with this. That is far short of certainty about what is going on here.
3. Why is everybody but Don Orlando refusing to talk--which is proper for Nowiki, et. al? But Orlando can say all this stuff that sounds pretty certain, pretty definitive. "Orlando said Gruber used his own user name and password to repeatedly access the Web sites." That is far beyond what the police said, at least according to the article. How does Orlando know that Gruber himself used it? Was he there? With the HJT administration calling us all back to Benedictine values, they forgot one here--"Don't bear false witness."
4. @bearcatseveneleven--It is a well known fear/paranoia/concern of the faculty and admin that HJT is reading emails and viewing people's computer useage. So much that some put material in their emails directed to HJT, Denis Grace and so on.
This is a sad day--something smells rotten in Latrobe.
<p>Dogman, it's clear that someone in the administration broke the story... maybe the Trib got hold of a tidbit and made the call. it's typical Towey-former-Bush tactic to take the bull by the horns. Gruber nor anyone else was available for comment. Same thing happened when the tenured faculty signed their letter... the administration broke the story with a letter from Tom Acklin. The faculty traditionally likes to keep things in house to get solved.</p> <p>Orlando doesn't prepare statements... Orlando simply passes on to the press what he's told to pass on.</p> <p>Why? Why? Why? All good questions. It is likely the answer to most of them is the Administration is so entrenched in its arrogance they don't know the difference between truth and fabrication.. and even if they did, repeating a fabrication often enough, well, the hope is that fabrication starts to look like the truth.</p> <p>And, as far as the comment "Orlando said Gruber used his own user name and password to repeatedly access the Web sites?? Well, if it looks like bullshit and smells like bullshit, it's bullshit. Trouble, Orlando knows its bullshit when he says it, and that's kind of sad, really.</p>
<p> I think it was unfair of the school to jump down Fr. Mark's throat immediately - and many of my professors openly admitted today that they are doing everything they can to fight this. I don't want to namedrop but a very old and respected professor I have is visibly shaken that Fr. Mark is accused of such things. I don't think anyone but those who have been "attacked" by Fr. Mark want to attack back. </p> <p>I think it would be an absolute disgrace to the school if Fr. Mark was found guilty of these crimes. The short of it is, Jim Towey needs to get the hell out of SVC. He's done nothing but pockmark an institution that was once regarded with pride. I'm not saying Towey is the entire problem but he seems to have struck the right chords within Nowicki and Smetanka to make some really questionable choices. The end of this year can't come soon enough.</p>
The Constitutions and Directory of the American Cassinese Congregation provide for the deposition/forcible removal by the Abbot President of an abbot who has caused grave scandal. Maybe folks ought to write the Abbot President, Timothy Kelly, requesting that Mark Gruber be given redress and that the present Archabbot of St Vincent Archabbey be removed from office. Timothy Kelly's address can be gotten easily by googling his name.
The Constitutions and Directory of the American Cassinese Congregation provide for the deposition/forcible removal by the Abbot President of an abbot who has caused grave scandal. Maybe folks ought to write the Abbot President, Timothy Kelly, requesting that Mark Gruber be given redress and that the present Archabbot of St Vincent Archabbey be removed from office. Timothy Kelly's address can be gotten easily by googling his name.
Folks should realize that any priest who is asked "who did x, y, z" would have to be "evasive" out of a concern not to violate the seal of confession on behalf of anyone who might have gone to confession to him about x, y, or z. This point is something that should have occurred at least to the Archabbot, and it looks like Mark Gruber was trying to give the Archabbot a chance to "connect the dots" when the police were questioning him in the Archabbot's presence. Looks to me like the Archabbot couldn't or wouldn't do that. Another reason folks might want to write to the Abbot President.
<p>Johnnybob...</p> <p><strong>You have stuck the nail squarely on the head... well done, well done!</strong></p> <p>Ahd as I read through matters here and there, I am dumbfounded by the request of the Inquisitors that the police continue to search for others who might have looked at pornography on the computer. They even wanted the email addresses the police mentioned to be identified.</p> <p>To me, that speaks volumes about the regime.</p>
<p>This whole mess is deeply disturbing. I had Fr. Mark many years ago for an anthro course and he seems more mimeograph machine than internet maven. Why has Nowicki allowed Towey to Svengali him into believing this trash?</p>
Mark might be asking for God's help now, but God is kind of busy...so he is sending us. We need to keep the internet and the media full of positive messages about Mark, we need that power that comes from our collective love and goodwill. We cannot be responsible for acts of God, but we can be responsible for God-like acts. Mark needs everyone who has ever loved him to write to the newspapers, post on message boards...everything. When someone "Googles" Fr. Mark Gruber they need to see links of support right up there with the news stories.