Safe Environment

Zero Tolerance. Full Transparency. Ongoing Vigilance.

The Monks of Marmion Abbey believe that any type of abuse is morally reprehensible. Abuse violates human dignity and is contrary to the teachings of Jesus Christ and our Benedictine way of life. Our primary concern when faced with abuse is always for the victim and the victim’s well-being. To any victim who has ever suffered from abuse by a Benedictine monk, we are deeply and profoundly sorry. The Benedictines know that the sincerity of our apology and the possibility of reconciliation requires specific action and vigilance on our part.

For more than a decade, Marmion Abbey has had in place very strict guidelines to 1) ensure that we do everything we can to prevent abuse from occurring in the first place; and 2) if abuse does occur, that the necessary immediate actions are taken, which includes reporting to civil authorities.

We are regularly audited and accredited for our child protection protocols by Praesidium, an independent, nationally recognized certification organization whose mission is “to prevent the sexual abuse of children and vulnerable adults and to preserve trust in respected organizations.”

Our policy is available here: 2024 Policy of Standards from Praesidium

Reporting Abuse

The reporting of abuse is an important step both in the healing and the prevention of future abuse. If you believe that you, or someone you know, has been abused by anyone at Marmion Abbey, you are urged to advise us immediately by contacting Abbot Joel Rippinger, OSB or Jeannine Williams, our Victims Assistance Coordinator. Your case will be handled with the strictest sensitivity and confidentiality.

Abbot Joel Rippinger, OSB
Marmion Abbey
850 Butterfield Road,
Aurora, IL 60502
(630) 897-7215, ext. 312 
jrippinger@marmion.org

Jeannine Williams, LPC
Victims Assistance Coordinator 
(630) 408-5807 
Jpwilliams505@gmail.com

You are also advised to contact the appropriate law enforcement or child-protection agency in the jurisdiction where the abuse occurred.

Law Enforcement and Child Protection Agency Resources:

Illinois Department of Children and Family Services
Illinois State Police Department
Aurora Police Department
Illinois Safe Kids (a resource by the State of Illinois that provides a 24-hour confidential hotline)

List of Accused Monks

While we must always remain respectful of a victim’s right to privacy, Marmion Abbey wants to be as transparent about the record of abuse allegations as we can be. To that end, the Abbey has released the following list of monks who have established allegations. Established allegations are defined as such – based upon the facts and the circumstances, there is objective certainty that the accusation is true and that an incident of sexual abuse of a minor has occurred.

The names on the list below are based on a process of consultation with an independent review board and is not a legal judgement. The Abbey reports all first-person allegations of abuse to civil authorities whether we believe it is credible or not. This list will be updated when additional information is available.

The following list provides the names and status of monks against whom have established allegations:

Name	Date of Entrance	Single or Multiple Allegation(s)	Timeframe	Status
Fr. Augustine Jones	1947	Multiple	1959, 1960s, early 1990s	Permanently removed from ministry 1993 Deceased 2007
Jerome Skaja	1972	Multiple	1970s – 1980s	Dismissed 1988 Deceased 2016
Br. André Charron	2005	Single	2008 – 2016	Resident in a supervised facility out of state