A lawsuit filed Thursday against a Missouri abbey accuses Catholic
Church officials — including former St. Cloud Bishop Jerome Hanus — of
covering up sexual abuse by a former monk who spent several years at St.
John’s University three decades ago.
The
lawsuit, filed in Nodaway County Circuit Court, alleges that
then-Benedictine monk Bede Parry abused the unnamed plaintiff in 1987
during a summer choir camp at Conception Abbey in northwest Missouri
while Parry was director of the boys’ choir.
According to the lawsuit, Parry attended St. John’s University’s School of Theology in Collegeville from 1979 until 1982.
The
plaintiff, who filed the lawsuit under the name John Doe 181, claims
the Missouri abbey knew Parry had sexually abused other students but
took no action. Among those the lawsuit accuses of knowing about the
abuse are Hanus, who at that time was abbot of Conception Abbey, and
Jerome Theisen, former abbot of St. John’s.
Hanus
was abbot of Conception Abbey before becoming bishop of St. Cloud. He
served in St. Cloud from 1987-1994. He is now the archbishop of Dubuque,
Iowa.
The lawsuit
alleges that between 1973-1979 while Parry was a monk at Conception
Abbey, he reported to Hanus that he had been involved in three
inappropriate sexual relationships. It also alleges he admitted a
relationship with a student in 1981 while he was at St. John’s.
Parry
admitted the sexual misconduct to Theisen and two other monks at St.
John’s, the lawsuit claims.
Parry
was allowed to remain at St. John’s until he graduated in 1982, the
lawsuit states, but as a condition he was required to receive
psychological treatment.
The
plaintiff alleges that Parry abused him during the summer choir program
in 1987.
According to the lawsuit, the plaintiff called his parents the
next day and told them about it.
They confronted Hanus, who told them
Parry had a “mental breakdown” and would receive treatment, the lawsuit
states.
St. Paul
attorney Jeff Anderson is representing the plaintiff and has filed
numerous lawsuits on behalf of victims of clergy abuse.
Anderson said the plaintiff’s parents were given the impression that
it would be taken care of and Parry would not be around children in the
future.
However, according to the lawsuit,
Parry was assigned to churches in Albuquerque, N.M., and Las Vegas in
the late 1980s and 1990s.
In 2000, Parry underwent psychological testing
because he was considering entering another monastery, the lawsuit
claims.
The results of the tests revealed that Parry “was a sexual
abuser who had the proclivity to reoffend with minors,” the lawsuit
states.
The Kansas
City Star reported Thursday that Parry became a priest in the Episcopal
Church in 2004 and is now the music director and assisting priest at
All Saints Episcopal Church in Las Vegas.
The
Associated Press reported that the head of Conception Abbey, Abbot
Gregory Polan, and lawyer Jon Haden told the Kansas City Star they have
no comment.
Anderson
said the plaintiff was upset when he found out that Parry is still a
practicing clergy member, and wants to make sure no other children are
harmed.
He wants Parry removed from the ministry and for church
officials to acknowledge their mistakes, Anderson said.
“Unfortunately they’ve known the peril he posed for ... 23 years at least, if not longer,” Anderson said.