TTSOML 38: Mt. Angel Abbey Runaround

I believe the police were called upon to "investigate" me after I met with the Abbot, but I'm not positive. I tried to find out the exact date, and the Mt. Angel police refused to give me records. At any rate, I found out it was certaintly after I told Fr. Joachim what was going on.

The Abbot promised me, at the end of my meeting with him, to give me copies of the "policies" governing monk conduct or vows. He promised to get back to me. Also, I had told the Abbot that I had loaned Br. Ansgar a couple of photos of me and I wanted them back because they were original family photos.

One was of me in The Dominican Republic, with just my head showing, as I was surrounded by a bunch of people in the village whose houses we helped build, and the other was an older one of my immediate family. In that photo, we were all sitting on the couch and I am about 6 years old holding a Persian cat, and the family Shelties were also in the photo. It was me, my younger brother, mother, father, and we sat beneath a framed portrait of Jesus. I gave this one to Br. Ansgar to show him not all "Protestants" are opposed to artistic renderings of Jesus and/or saints. These were the only photos I gave him. They were certaintly not "seductive" unless one has a fetish for headshots and little girls holding a cat. I didn't have negatives or copies of these photos. I had also loaned him a CD, which Ansgar later said was "broken".

So I waited, and waited, and waited. I didn't go up to the Abbey after meeting the Abbot, for months. I called several times from my house and each time, Lynne Morris would tell me to "call again, he's out" or "Ask the Abbot" and then I'd call the Abbot who would say, "This isn't my responsibilty--Lynne would have that information." They kept telling me to call back at this time and that time, and passing me back and forth. I actually didn't even THINK they were giving me the "runaround" at first. I had never had anyone do anything like this to me before, and I thought they were confused and must be extremely busy and confused. So I kept calling as they instructed. Lynne Morris even invited me to come up to the Abbey, which I hadn't been doing, and she told me she'd meet with me. So I drove up, after staying away a couple of months, and I sat in the waiting room for over an hour as she sat at her desk, telling me she would be just "5 more minutes" for an hour. I realized she had no intention of meeting with me. I got up and left and she called after me, "I'm ready to see you now!" I tried one other time, when she said to meet her at a specific time, and when I got there, on time, the door was locked. I waited around for about an hour again and no one ever showed up.

Then they told me to call a different priest, Abbot Peter Eberle. Abbot Eberle said, "Why don't you call Ansgar?" I said, "Why would I call Br. Ansgar? He's the one I've had a problem with!" I never called Br. Ansgar, not even once and I wasn't writing to him. Abbot Eberle kept telling me to call him and that maybe I would get through to him, get an apology, and get my photos back. I thought maybe someone had talked to Br. Ansgar so he was prepared to take a call from me.

So I called Br. Ansgar, about 3 months after meeting the Abbot. He said, "Hello?" and I said, "Hi...Um, this is Cameo and I--" and here Br. Ansgar cut me off, with a dial tone. He had hung up promptly. I thought it was odd, and maybe a mistake, so I tried one more time. He answered again, with a more pleasant "Hello" and I said, "This is Cameo and--" and Br. Ansgar interjected, I quote (because I will NEVER forget this): "I consider calls from you to be harassment and I will treat them as such!" (click). He hung up.

I was on the other end and suddenly, for the first time, it dawned on me. I NEVER called him! And here he was, saying, "I consider callS from you...to be HARASSMENT.." He implied I was calling him all the time, AND made a comment about "harassment" which was a term I'd never had anyone use with me before, in my life. I had just been instructed to CALL him, against my OWN better judgment, and it hit me--

Br. Ansgar had been expecting my call. He hung up on me the first time, so he could press "record" or something on his machine and then wait for my call and make it sound like I was calling him all the time and he was being "harassed". That was the first time I wondered, if he's claiming "harassment", were the police involved?

I realized all of the instruction to call Lynn Morris and Abbot Zodrow over and over, was intentional. I realized making appointments to meet with me and then cancelling and making me wait around, was intentional. I realized telling me to call Br. Ansgar had even been intentional.

I never called Br. Ansgar's number again.

And then I met the Mt. Angel police officer who wanted to date me.

I need to write about my new "friend" who was taking me out on the town as well, who I didn't suspect to be connected to the Abbey, but first I'm going to write about Scott.