A recent lawsuit filed in Missouri over child molestation and abuse charges against a Catholic monastery there contains allegations which, if proved, raise troubling questions about the conduct of ECUSA’s Presiding Bishop when she was the Bishop of Nevada from 2000 until her election to the national post in 2006. The lawsuit alleges that one of the abbey’s Benedictine monks, Bede Parry, molested the plaintiff and several other young men over a five-year period between 1982 and 1987 while they sang in the Abbey Choir, of which Parry was the director.
Archive for June 30, 2011
Statement Regarding Resignation Of Fr. Bede Parry
[Webmaster’s Note: The following statement comes from Bishop Dan Edwards from the Episcopal Diocese of Nevada.]
A lawsuit was filed last week against a monastery in Missouri where Fr. Bede Parry, who has served All Saints for 11 years as organist and assisting priest, was a monk in another denomination in the 1980s. The suit alleges that Fr. Bede engaged in inappropriate relationships with youth in their late teens. In response to these allegations, Fr. Bede has resigned from his duties at All Saints and tendered to me his resignation as a priest.
Allegation: Bishop Knew Monk was a Pedophile
(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.
Suit alleges abuse by priest
(Maryville Daily Forum) A Missouri man filed a lawsuit against Conception Abbey last week, alleging that officials there covered up sexual abuse by a monk in the 1980s.
Critic slams archbishop over abuse suit
(WCF Courier) WATERLOO, Iowa — The Hudson-based spokesman for a local clergy sex abuse survivors group has taken Dubuque Archbishop Jerome Hanus to task for his handling 24 years ago of a former Catholic monk, as recounted in a new Missouri lawsuit. Hanus is not named as a defendant in that lawsuit.
Jerome Hanus in 1991 Interview (Video)
On August 7, 1991, the sex abuse scandal in Collegeville was made public for the first time when two lawsuits were filed against Fr. Dunstan Moorse (for sexual abuse at St. John’s Preparatory School), St. John’s Abbey and the Order of St. Benedict. Below is a television news segment from that evening. St. Cloud Bishop Jerome Hanus also appears in the news segment.
Statement From Former Abbot Jerome Hanus
“A lawsuit has been filed that makes several claims about me while I served as Abbot of Conception Abbey. I await the opportunity to respond to these claims according to the system of justice in our country.” – Jerome Hanus
Sr. Warden’s Letter Regarding Fr. Bede’s resignation
It is with much regret that I inform you of the resignation of our friend and musician, Bede Parry. Most of you are aware of the lawsuit filed against Conception Abbey in Missouri alleging that Father Bede participated in sexual misconduct.
Former leader of boys choir at Missouri abbey admits sexual misconduct
(The Kansas City Star) A former Benedictine monk who directed a boys choir at a northwest Missouri abbey in the 1980s admitted on Thursday that he had inappropriate sexual relations with several members of the group.
Bede 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.
Lawsuit alleges abuse at Conception Abbey
(St. Joseph News-Press) A Missouri man filed a lawsuit Thursday against Conception Abbey, alleging a priest continued to sexually abuse children while the monastery covered up his crimes.
Lawsuit alleges abuse of boys by monk at Conception Abbey
(KC Star) A Missouri man filed a lawsuit today against Conception Abbey in northwest Missouri, alleging a coverup of sexual abuse by a former monk who directed its boys’ choir in the late-1980s. The lawsuit, filed in Nodaway County Circuit Court, claims that Bede Parry, then a Benedictine monk, molested the plaintiff in 1987 during a summer camp at the abbey. At the time, Parry led the Abbey Boy Choir of Conception Abbey.
Conception, Missouri Abbey Faces Lawsuit
Parry, who was ordained in 1983, was then assigned to Conception Abbey where he was in charge of the choir program. In 1987, when the minor Plaintiff attended a residential choir camp at the Abbey, he was sexually abused by the priest. When the child’s parents brought the assault to the attention of Abbot Hanus, they were told that Father Parry had a “mental breakdown” and he would be treated for the breakdown.
Conception Abbey Boy Choir
Album recorded in 1981. Cover Art Below.