Maskell also worked as a psychologist in private practice in Wexford and nearby Castlebridge from 1995 to 1998. Netflix's newest original docuseries, The Keepers, focuses on the brutal and mysterious murder of a young nun who taught at a Catholic high school in Baltimore. Von Den Bosh said Maskell would pull her out of class, call her into his office and assault her. The church community is portrayed as insular, with its members and leaders interwoven into one anothers lives and families. If his developmental years were any indication, Maskell displayed little outward interest in any sexual life at all. Distressed at the memory, Jennifer examined her 1971 Keough yearbook and recognized the face of the priest she remembered in the confessional. cemeteries found within kilometers of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. God Only Knows - Baltimore Magazine But waiting for him in the archbishops office on that gusty Monday were two diocesan officials, two attorneys and the archbishop himself, William H. Keeler. The recent publicity has also forced policy reviews within Catholicisms fraternal citadel: What is the proper Christian response to accusers? It lay in an open, barren place, next to a dumpster. Wehner gave the two diocesan representatives names of a number of adults who had allegedly abused her sexually while she was a student at Keoughincluding a former Baltimore City politician. Now a 38-year-old mother of two, the Baltimore woman had only recently remembered these alleged abuses, and contacted the archdiocese in late June in search of an apology and some spiritual help. / CBS Baltimore. She claims the two priests instructed her to perform oral sex on them because the Holy Spirit was coming through them.It was like the Eucharist. She saw Maskell for counseling sessions during which he was praying that I would stop being bad.. MAUCIONE: Often, it takes years for people to come to terms with their abuse. Mrozs story rings eerily familiar with those brought to life by The Keepers. Another survivor, Donna Von Den Bosh, spoke in the docu-series about her experience with Maskell. Other former students, including the original "Jane Doe" in the case, Jean Hargadon Wehner also allegedly suffered abuse by both Maskell and Magnus, allegedly sometimes at the same time, under the guise of healing her soul, according to The Huffington Post. On the drive home, Bill sat up front with Maskell, and as the car rose over a bump in the road, Bill alleges, Maskell reached over, grabbed Bills crotch, and said playfully, Hold on to your balls.. One especially perilous aspect of the vocation, according to Richard Sipe, is confession. Magnus was the Director of Religious Studies. He said he could hypnotize me and help me.. But that wed have to do it alone. Fr Joseph Maskell Allegedly, Maskell reassured her: I am touching you in a Godly manner., This session led to a series of meetings in which, Tracy claims, she was naked, sometimes sitting on his lap. Once you get ordained, it all falls into place.. I am one of his victims.". Petite, blonde, with doe-brown eyes and a hawk nose, at 41 Tracy recently graduated from community college with honors and is pursuing a bachelors degree. Father Maskell Was A Controversial Figure What Happened To Father Neil Magnus? 'The Keepers' Priest If you remember youll die. She could picture him twirling fiercelythe cape flapping around his head. Some St. Augustine parishioners, tipped off about Maskells circumstances, protested his arrival. The late Father Joseph Maskell, one of the accused priests, is an important character in the Netflix series, leading many to wonder: how did Father Maskell Die? Found more than one record for entered Email, You need to confirm this account before you can sign in. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached, or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Baltimore Magazine. Bill didnt have one, but Maskell did, back in the rectory. Although the Church demands celibacy of its priests, it does little to prepare them for the rigors of that life, says Lutherville psychotherapist Richard Sipe, one of the nations foremost experts on the subject. But who is Father Joseph Maskell on The Keepers? There are no volunteers for this cemetery. But Maskell professed his innocence. As one deacon told Sipe, I dont see what difference it makes whether I use my hand or somebodys vagina to have an orgasm. This sort of naive, all-or-nothing thinking, when flamed by the loneliness of the celibate life, according to Burkett and Bruni, can leave a priest primed for bad behavior. That November of 1969, Sister Cesnik left the apartment she shared with another nun in Southwest Baltimore, went out on some errands, and never came back. What Happened To Father Joseph Maskell? 'The Keepers' Priest The men pretended to have discovered the items in Jennifers school locker, she says. the nun asked. Chronicling one of the most infamous such cases, Lawrence Wright, in his gripping 1994 book Remembering Satan, goes so far as to argue that a Washington state policeman remembered abusing his daughters in a series of bizarre cult rituals only because overzealous interrogators convinced him of it. Outside on the courthouse steps, Maskells lawyer and friend J. Michael Lehane said the ruling clearly vindicated his client. Nelson claims Maskell jumped up and said he was hearing the girls confession. The report implicates 158 priests. Paul Mandelbaum is a former Baltimore senior writer and a contributor to The New York Times. Even against this grim backdrop, the allegations against Father Joseph Maskell reveal the Catholic crisis in its extreme. One of the victims claimed that she had a recovered memory of his involvement in her death, but he was interviewed and never charged." Priests and brothers were regular guests. Mroz said. Maskell raised the subject, Heim believes, as a way of saying that at this one point in his life, he had experienced romantic love. In October 1992, nearly three decades after realizing his childhood dream to become a priest, Rev. Hes dead. BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Following the release of the Netflix series, "The Keepers," which documents allegations of widespread sex abuse by a Baltimore priest, his time in Ireland is being investigated. During Jennifers cross-examination, a defense lawyer pointed-out that Jennifer could not recall any teachers from Keough who had not abused her. He changed the subject, but after he lapsed into a description of sights hed seen on lovers lane, Ann says she asked to be taken home. There, 13-year-old Bill* felt like a bigshot whenever the priest would call him out of class at the parish school to chat, usually for several hours at a time, two or three times a week. You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below. The decentralized nature of the nearly 200 dioceses and archdiocese in the United States makes the reporting and prosecution of child sex abuse complicated. This intervention, the victims and Netflix series allege, may have led to her death and a massive cover-up of the crime. The priest advised her to stay away from Maskell and shut the door in her face, she says. Wehner contacted us and wanted to amend the story from her point of view: Before coming in to give an official statement, Wehner was encouraged by the diocesan representatives to get an attorney. Maskells police credentials made their greatest contribution on January 4, 1987the night of the Chase Amtrak crash that killed 16 people. As she bent over the body, she claims she heard him say, You see what happens when you say bad things about people., When I first remembered Sister Cathy, says Jennifer, I felt that I had killed her. 2023 BDG Media, Inc. All rights reserved. I screamed that I had been raped and woke up my husband, she recalls. This represents significantly higher rates, he believes, than among clergy of non-celibate denominations. He sat on his desk, perched above her. The Baltimore Sun reports the Anne Arundel County police have received numerous calls about another murder "The Keepers" discusses. The Murder Of Catherine Cesnik, The Nun Who Immediately after hearing this little voice, she says, she would briefly pass out. WebFather Maskell, who died at age 62 on May 7, 2001, reportedly served as a military chaplain at Fort Meade for several years. One of these women adds that Maskell was so taken with himself that, as part of her counseling, he put his face within a few inches of hers and asked her to look into his eyes and tell him how beautiful they were and how good looking he was. She is now taking steps toward reaching a resolution with the Archdiocese of Baltimore, and, she hopes, peace with the questions that remain. WebAccording to media reports, the police investigated the charges and interviewed Maskell. A wise man once said, Were born selfish and we grow out of it, quotes Dr. Frank Valcour, medical director of St. Luke Institute in Suitland, Maryland, one of the countrys leading facilities for priests with sexual problems. But with charges mounting nationally that the Catholic church lacked the fortitude to police its own ranks, the pressure was on for a show of self-prosecution. During the 10-minute break that followed, Sun reporter Robert Erlandson buttonholed Dantes in the back of the courtroom. Later in the hearing, psychotherapists testified that Tracy and Jennifer were suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder resulting from their alleged abuse by Maskell. The Keepers theorized that Cesnik may have discovered Maskells assaults and been killed to prevent that information from getting out. Confused about his commitment to celibacy, the student asked his rector for advice. She didnt quite believe the priest, but she didnt want to disbelieve him. You wont remember. Body of Baltimore priest exhumed in 50-year-old murder Who Is Father Joseph Maskell On 'The Keepers'? The Priest I do believe that there is a connection between this and the roots of the Holocaust., In his 1986 study The Nazi Doctors, noted psychiatrist Robery Jay Lifton turned to the Holocaust as well in his quest to understand how evil can function in a presumably moral soul. This new perspective does not deny the act itself, but reinterprets its meaning as benign or even heroic. And I couldnt help wondering if maybe one of the Catholic officials had gotten to somebody high up in the police.". She claims the priest then began masturbating, saying that if she told anyone, she would go to hell. The crisis contains disturbing truths about the power of human denial. Could these new allegations possibly be true? Joseph Maskell. That woman was dying and Joe knew it.. As a student in high school, she went to Maskell for advice on the usual teenage stuff. Decades later, Mroz said she is only now beginning the process of healing from what transpired during those visits. Sadly, the long-term damage to religious faith remains the cruelest irony of abuse by priests. JEAN HARGEDON WEHNER: He would put a gun to my temple. When Maskells friend Albert Griffith called to say he was depressed and thinking of blowing my brains out, Maskell drove to Severna Park within 15 minutes. Your new password must contain one or more uppercase and lowercase letters, and one or more numbers or special characters. Sexual abuse by priests has rooted like a cancer within the body of the American Catholic Church, eluding most public detection until the early 80s. Through this warped looking-glass, anything a priest might do is, by default, holya view that often has been adopted by parishioners. He was interviewed once. She claims he quizzed her about her sex life, which, at 14, was nonexistent, and as she tried to answer his questions, she squeezed her eyes tight in the vain hope that he wouldnt see her. An investigation of abuse by 150 priests of the Archdiocese of SCOTT MAUCIONE, BYLINE: Jean Hargedon Wehner was just a teenager when Father Joseph Maskell allegedly abused her at a Baltimore high school in the 1960s. In heavily Catholic Central Maryland, these are no academic questions. I had no clue that my memories going back that other girls in my class had been going through the suffering they did too. Still other Maskell critics have emerged, with more than a dozen of them telling Baltimore magazine in recent months that the public allegations of sexual misbehavior fit a pattern. Maskell served at Sacred Heart of Mary (Baltimore) from 1965 to 1966, at St. Clement (Lansdowne) from 1966 to Since then, general interest in the case has increased. Dame was present again, and this time so was Beverly Wallace, even though Cruz still had no intention of suing. Sorry! This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. The body of a Catholic priest from Baltimore, whose sexual assaults on teenage girls in the 1960s and 1970s caused the Archdiocese of Baltimore to pay out a Further preventing her from coming forward with her experience were issues of embarrassment and family dynamics, during a time when she said growing up, parents and children did not discuss personal subjects like sex. But neither mental health professional who testified for the plaintiffs was an expert in memory. As of now, the true nature of Cesnik's death and whether Maskell was actually involved are undetermined. In a 2014 statement to Inside Baltimore (which is a website published by Baltimore reporter and Keepers subject Tom Nugent), former Keough student Teresa Lancaster alleged that she approached Magnus for help with Maskell, but he allegedly brushed her off. Remove advertising from a memorial by sponsoring it for just $5. There is no statute of limitations for criminal prosecution of these types of crimes in Maryland, so authorities could have prosecuted Maskell anytime from September 8, 1993 until his death in 2001.