University prez resigns over sex misconduct

Many Loyola University students are in shock after their Jesuit college president resigned under the cloud of a sexual misconduct accusation. The Rev. Bernard Knoth, a Jesuit priest, submitted his resignation Tuesday. He was accused of sexual misconduct in 1986 while he was principal of Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School in Indianapolis. The Rev. James P. Gschwend, provincial delegate for the Jesuit Order`s Chicago Province, said the accuser was a student at the Indianapolis school, which has been co-ed since 1976. Gschwend would not say whether the student was male or female. Knoth, president of Loyola since 1995, issued a statement denying any impropriety. But under church rules, if a sexual allegation involving a minor is deemed credible, the accused should be removed immediately. "It`s a sad state of affairs right now. But the campus is pretty much in shock and I think the university is doing a very good job of getting the proper information out to us," Loyola student Angela Haddad told WDSU-TV in New Orleans. Loyola, which traces its history back to the 18th century, has about 5,500 students and is one of 28 Jesuit colleges in the United States. "The man was one of the most giving and just wonderful people you could probably encounter in your entire life and I don`t believe any of it," Glenn Bohne, a student, told WWL-TV in New Orleans. The Rev. William J. Byron was named acting president until a permanent replacement can be installed. Byron was dean at Loyola from 1973-75 and is moving to New Orleans from the Sellinger School of Business at Loyola College in Baltimore, where he was research professor. He writes a syndicated biweekly column for Catholic News Service. Byron said at a news conference that, if proven, this is "another event in a series of tragic events that comprise the greatest crisis the church has had to deal with." "Whenever something like this happens, it`s like a kick in the teeth," Byron said. "I have deep, deep sympathy for this good man who`s been accused; I have deep sympathy with anyone who`s been a victim of sexual misconduct." It is the only sexual allegation ever made against Knoth, said Gschwend. David Clohessy of St. Louis, national director of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, said, "We applaud the person who had the courage to come forward. "We hope that if there are others who have been victimized, they too find the strength to report their experiences and begin to get the healing they need and deserve." Knoth, 54, spent six years, starting when he was 33, as an administrator at Brebeuf, most of them as principal. He also worked at Loyola University in Chicago and at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., before coming to New Orleans in 1995. Knoth`s removal fell under the 2002 Norms of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which led the Chicago Province to remove Knoth from active ministry, making necessary his resignation as president. The university board accepted Knoth`s resignation at a special meeting Tuesday. Byron said the board chairman was notified about a week ago and the full board was called into session Tuesday. The complaint was made earlier this year, Gschwend said. It triggered an immediate investigation and the case was sent to a review board, which found the allegations to be credible, a statement from the order said. Gschwend did not know just when the complaint was made, but said Knoth and his accuser both had appeared before the review board before September. The statement said the Province is working closely with Brebeuf. As is customary in such cases, the accuser`s name was not made public. It is the third allegation in a month against a high-profile Jesuit. Four women sued the Rev. John Powell, a best-selling Catholic author and a former professor of Loyola University in Chicago, on Sept. 8, alleging that he sexually abused them between 1966 and 1973. Two men have sued the Rev. Donald McGuire, once spiritual director for Mother Teresa and her Missionaries of Charity, accusing him of abusing them in the late 1960s when he was a counselor and teacher at Loyola Academy in the Chicago area.