Monks at Saint Anselm clash with college board over power
MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — Monks at a Catholic college in New Hampshire have gone to court in a dispute with the school's board of trustees over an effort to limit their power.
The two sides were in Hillsborough Superior Court on Monday over the lawsuit filed against the Saint Anselm College board last year. The unusual clash was set in motion when the board moved to take away the monks' ability to amend the school's bylaws.
Michael Tierney, who is representing the monks, argued the school's charter dictated that they retain the power to amend laws governing the school set up by the Benedictine monks.
“I'm confident at the end of the day that the court will understand that the monk members maintain the amending power over the bylaws as they have since the legislative charter in 1889 and can maintain Saint Anselm College as the great Catholic and Benedictine institution it is and always will be,” Tierney said after the court hearing.
The board has argued that it needs the power to amend the bylaws so that it has the necessary independence required for reaccreditation.