The Maryville Daily Forum from Missouri has reported that a resident has filed a lawsuit against the Conception Abbey for their alleged cover up of a monk's sexual abuse.
The sexual abuse occurred in 1987 when the plaintiff was a minor. The monk abused the victim while he was attending a summer choir camp at Conception Abbey.
Conception Abbey, 16 miles east of Maryville on Highway 136, has a Benedictine monastery and seminary college on its grounds.
The plaintiff is known as John Doe 181. Doe alleges that the abbey knew of the monk's previous sexual abuse but kept the knowledge to themselves.
The former monk, B.P., now 69 and living in Las Vegas, is not named in the suit.
As reported by the Associated Press, B.P. gave this statement: "The whole thing is terrible, I feel so terrible. I'm just praying for everybody, and I ask for prayers."
Jenny Huard, the spokeswoman for Conception Abbey also spoke to the Associated Press. She acknowledged that she was aware of B.P.'s statement to the press and that the abbey could only comment, "we are praying for all involved."
The Minnesota-based attorney, Jeff Anderson, representing Doe said that the former monk "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."
Father J.H., the abbot in charge at Conception at the time of the molestation, is now holding the position of archbishop of Dubuque, Iowa.
The suit states that B.P. lived at the abbey from 1973 through 1979, he then went to the school of theology in Minnesota for the next three years before returning to Conception Abbey in 1982.
In 1982 B.P. served as the Abbey's secretary, taught classes and directed the choir.
The lawsuit states that during an abbey-hosted camp in the summer of 1987, where B.P. served as the camp's choir director, he allegedly had sexual contact with the minor Doe. The next day Doe telephoned his parents from camp to report the monk's abuse.
When the parents, per the lawsuit, in turn reported the incident to Father J.H., they were told that B.P. had suffered from a "mental breakdown" and would be treated.
Records show that B.P. went to a Catholic treatment center for three months and then returned to church life, finally becoming an Episcopal clergyman.
The suit alleges that B.P. himself reported to Father J.H., Br. J.T., and two other monks, that he had three other inappropriate sexual relationships.
Court papers state that abbey officials knew B.P. was a "known serial child predator who had sexually abused numerous students before (B.P.) sexually abused the plaintiff" and that by 2000 B.P. was diagnosed as "a sexual abuser who had the proclivity to reoffend with minors."
Whether abused by a monk or priest, in a summer camp program or while serving as an altar boy, you have grounds for a lawsuit. Contact a personal injury lawyer today to discuss your own personal situation.