Thomas Quartier, monk and Professor in Nijmegen, was apparently guilty of transgressive behaviour towards a younger brother and former student at a monastery in Doetinchem. So wrote Nederlands Dagblad on Saturday.

Professor of Liturgical Studies and monk Thomas Quartier (51) was allegedly guilty of transgressive behaviour in the past. That is the conclusion drawn by Nederlands Dagblad on the basis on internal documents.

Quartier was appointed professor at Radboud University in 2020. A year later, Quartier, who often appears in the media, was also nominated Theologian Laureate of the Netherlands.

Letter

Nederlands Dagblad quotes from a letter from the abbot of St Willibrord’s Abbey in Doetinchem. This letter states that Thomas Quartier allegedly wanted an ‘exclusive, unconditional relationship of trust’ with a new brother (a novice) who entered St Willibrord’s Abbey in 2018, where Quartier was also living at the time. The novice, aged 29, was also a former student of Quartier at Radboud University.

According to the abbot, there was ‘abuse of power, emotional abuse, and psychological abuse’

The abbot of St Willibrord’s Abbey concluded that there was ‘abuse of power, emotional abuse, and psychological abuse’ between Quartier and the novice, in which ‘moral, psychological, emotional and also sexual boundaries were violated’. No sexual acts took place, according to the abbot.

In 2020, the novice stepped up to the monastery’s abbot. As a result of the alleged abuse, Quartier was transferred from the abbey in Doetinchem to Keizersberg Abbey in Leuven, Belgium, in 2020. The Doetinchem abbey did not submit an official report to the Roman Catholic Church, although it should have done so according to the Church’s rules.

Professor denies

The prior of the small community in Leuven had been informed about the affair in Doetinchem. Despite this, Quartier was given the opportunity to become a deacon there. There were even already plans for Quartier to be ordained in 2023. However, this did not go ahead after Belgian Bishop Jozef De Kesel heard about the abuse allegations.

The Vatican department overseeing monasteries informed the Belgian abbey that similar abuse was likely to reoccur in the future ‘given the brother’s personality disorder’, according to Nederlands Dagblad.

Thomas Quartier responded in Nederlands Dagblad that his departure from St Willibrord’s Abbey was the result of ‘a clash of personalities’. He ‘strongly denies’ engaging in any transgressive behaviour. ‘No complaint was ever filed and no punishment was ever imposed.’

In the wake of these reports, the Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies intends to hold talks with students and staff this week, says a spokesperson. Quartier will not be lecturing in the coming week.