HANNIBAL, Mo. — Church officials said Friday they will close the seminary at the center of sexual abuse allegations against a former Roman Catholic bishop, blaming financial woes and poor enrollment that aren't expected to improve because of the scandal.
St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary in Hannibal will shut down May 20, at the end of the 2001-2002 school year, the Jefferson City Diocese said.
Church officials had said last month that the future of the seminary was in question. Just 27 students enrolled this school year at St. Thomas, believed to be one of just three seminary boarding schools for teen-age boys in the country.
On March 8, Palm Beach, Fla., Bishop Anthony O'Connell resigned, admitting that he had sexually abused student Chris Dixon in the 1970s at the seminary, where O'Connell served for several years as rector.
Since then, three lawsuits have been filed by other former seminarians alleging abuse by O'Connell dating to the late 1960s. The most recent, filed Thursday, also named the Vatican among defendants and accused the Catholic Church of racketeering in a conspiracy to keep priest abuse allegations secret.
In a statement, Gaydos said the decision to close the school was financial, but the allegations against O'Connell played a role.
"There are no allegations of abusive behavior by any current members of the school's faculty," Gaydos said. "But, in the current environment, we do not believe it will be possible to build enrollment to the level this school needs."
Current enrollment at St. Thomas is less than one-third of the enrollment in 1963, when the seminary had 94 students. It has nine faculty members, including six priests, and employs 21 people.
The diocese said low enrollment in recent years forced parishes in the diocese to subsidize the costs of running the school. During the current school year, that subsidy amounted to $360,000.
"We know this is a painful decision for the students, their families, and the faculty," Gaydos said.
The last day of classes "will be a sad day for many of us," Gaydos said. "But, we have to focus our efforts on programs that will have the greatest impact on those we are called to serve."