(virtueonline.org ) A former Benedictine monk, who sexually abused students at a Roman Catholic Abbey, was allowed to join the Episcopal Church by Katharine Jefferts Schori while she was the Bishop of Nevada, according to reports VOL has received.
According to lawsuit papers filed last week by one of the abused boys known as John Doe 181, Fr. Bede Parry, 69, has admitted that he had inappropriate sexual relations with several members of the group at the northwest Missouri abbey in the 1980s.
In 2000, Fr. Parry underwent psychological testing relating to the possibility of entering another monastery. The results of this testing revealed that Fr. Parry is a sexual abuser who has the proclivity to reoffend with minors.
The test results were then provided to the Abbey, the Catholic Diocese of Las Vegas and the Episcopal Bishop for the Diocese of Nevada, Katharine Jefferts Schori. Parry converted to The Episcopal Church under Jefferts Schori in 2004. The record shows that from 2000 to the present, All Saints Episcopal Church in Las Vegas has employed Parry as a Music Director. He was made an assisting priest at All Saints in 2004 after Jefferts Schori received him into The Episcopal Church acknowledging his Catholic priesthood.
Fr. Parry, who led the Abbey Boy Choir of Conception Abbey from 1982 to 1987, told “The Kansas City Star” that he had sexual contact with five or six of the choir members as well as a student at a Minnesota university.
Many of the monks at St. John’s abbey knew about Br. Parry’s misconduct. On one occasion, Fr. Bob Koopmann made a joke about “blowing a student” that was clearly directed at Br. Parry.
“This is a grave institutional failure,” said Jeff Anderson, a Minnesota attorney who represents the plaintiff. “Bede Parry wasn’t able to control himself, but it was the abbot and the top officials who knew that and made the choice to protect themselves at the peril of many kids and young adults.”
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By David W. Virtue
www.virtueonline.org
June 27, 2011